One telling semantic shift has taken place, however: Western diplomats in Moscow used to refer to "the Putin administration." Now they're just as likely to call it "the regime."

"Some people are calling it soft or creeping authoritarianism," the diplomat said. "We're certainly seeing more authoritarian trends while they try to maintain the shell of democracy. The trends are certainly negative on many fronts."

One big positive remains: Putin's close personal relationship with President Bush.

Still, there's said to be increasing skepticism in the White House about Putin's true political nature, and some conservative hardliners in Washington want Russia suspended from the G8 group of major industrialized nations.