Hanoi and Moscow have long shared one of the region's most complex relationships, but as the new century approaches it is one in desperate need of a kick-start.
The visit this week of Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin - the first premier to tour Vietnam since the downfall of Soviet-style communism seven years ago - has revealed just how far apart the two nations have moved.
His cavalcade roared by vast hammer-and-sickle flags and one of the last statues of Lenin still standing in a Hanoi still under firm Communist Party rule.
The huge institutions set up by Moscow in the heyday of its 'Big Brother' benevolence remain in place but barely function - all of the aid and most of the advisers having long since gone home.
The Soviet Union was Vietnam's most staunch ideological ally and the two shared a symbiotic friendship to counter a China cut from a different communist cloth.
Diplomats report little firm progress on key issues but insist this week is the start of a new era and point to a string of long-term co-operation commitments.
Mr Chernomyrdin yesterday met party chief Do Muoi, new President Tran Duc Luong and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.
