Russia: Apparently inspired by last month's lavish gathering of European leaders in St Petersburg - Tsar Peter the Great's fabled "window on Europe" - Russians are keener than ever to join the EU and trust the surging euro over the flagging US dollar.
An opinion poll this week showed that 73 per cent of Russians would like to see Russia enter the EU, compared to 52 per cent in May, before President Vladimir Putin hosted a summit of EU leaders in St Petersburg amid celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of Russia's elegant northern capital.
Mr Putin's speeches to visiting dignitaries emphasised Russia's claim to membership of "Greater Europe", despite the sprawling geography of a country which stretches across 11 time zones to the Pacific Ocean and remote borders with China, Mongolia and North Korea.
Europe's popularity here comes largely at Washington's expense. Most Russians strongly disapproved of the US-led war in Iraq and welcomed the Kremlin's impromptu anti-war alliance with France and Germany, despite its failure to prevent hostilities in a country which was a long-term ally of Moscow.
The Public Opinion Foundation poll found that almost one-third of respondents wanted Russia to focus on improving ties with the EU, while only 2 per cent said that Moscow should concentrate on deepening its relationship with the United States.
In the hard-nosed business of cash, too, Russians are turning against Washington, dragging millions of US dollars from under their mattresses and exchanging them for euros after seeing the European currency edge towards record highs against the greenback.
Russia's Central Bank has said that, for the first time since such data was made available in 1996, it sent more US dollars out of the country in March than it brought in, highlighting falling demand for what has long been Russians' unrivalled hard currency of choice.
Exchange points were seeing rapidly-growing demand for euros, the Central Bank said, while people were getting rid of dollars at an increasing rate.
This is a major change in a country where millions prefer to hoard cash than trust banks and which experts say is home to more US dollars than anywhere other than the United States.
Russians' growing affection for Europe comes as they watch former Soviet satellite states like Poland and the Czech Republic draw a final line under their Moscow-dominated pasts by voting to join the EU next year.