Thus The New York Times today. “Political historians said the steps announced yesterday were akin to the steps taken to normalize relations with China and Vietnam,” elaborates the newspaper. Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba is an important step toward making the world a better place, no doubt. Not surprisingly, Havana’s economic and political hopes are rising fast. Nonetheless, it is strange to read these words right next to an article about Vladimir Putin, in which he blames America and Europe for Russia’s economic tumult. Forget about North Korea, bothersome as Kim Jong Un may be, but is Russia not the last Cold War vestige worthy of note? The only way to explain the newspaper’s blindness is to assume that it hopes that all troubles between America and Russia will soon be history, which can be safely left in the hands of political historians. But that does not appear a very likely outcome of the current rift. In fact, the deeper the economic tumult in Russia, much of which is surely caused by economic sanctions, the less likely is this to happen. The only way out for the newspaper is to call Russia the harbinger of the New Cold War, dutifully capitalized for history’s sake.