Nonetheless, the bureaucracy's upper echelons have been a permafrost since the election campaign began, with no significant appointments or departures.

An exception was former ambassador to Russia Peter Tesch, who won a promotion and is now a deputy secretary at the Defence Department, leading its strategic policy and intelligence work.

Tesch is a career diplomat who speaks German and Russian. He was at the helm in Moscow last year when Australia - in solidarity with Britain and other allies - kicked out two Russian diplomats over the killing of double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England. Russia responded in kind, booting out two of Tesch's staff.

Less well known, however, is Tesch's victory over Moscow Central District municipal services a month earlier. Tesch's charge d'affaires had complained to the district's mayor that heavy snow on the street on which the ambassador lived was blocking residents and schoolchildren.

According to Pravda, the district responded to what it called the "undiplomatic" request with a rather grumpy public statement, which, when translated, read:

"Dear Mr Peter Tesch, thank you for the signal [sic]. Housing and municipal services work, but due to abnormal amounts of snow, it is impossible to clear all snow at once. We remove snow step by step from roads, yards and roofs, but streets get piled with snow again after every step. The street will be cleared of snow again soon."

The next morning, the ambassador's street was clear, and the embassy's charge d'affairs praised the district workers who had toiled overnight.

Muscovites, unused to such Stakhanovite efforts from the district, were shocked. They begged the ambassador to complain about the snow on their streets.

Now that's soft power at work. Don't mess with the Tesch, Defence comrades.