Opera moves to WebKit and V8

Yes, I also perceive a Russian perspective. But Opera did manage to get itself into various devices as an embedded browser - various set-top boxes and consoles - and by the standards of that business their product can probably be considered super-high-quality.

That said, Opera has been in full strategic retreat from what the company was (and still is) known for, hence the emphasis on services and things like Opera Mini. I just interpret this news to be a continuation of that retreat.