The Putin v Medvedev tandem

摘要

It all seemed so clear a year ago. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, tweeted and blogged about modernisation, while Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister and the other half of the tandem, pulled the strings, drove anything that moved and posed for cameras as he prepared to stroll back into the Kremlin in 2012, this time for two six-year terms.But in recent weeks the picture has be-come hazier. Mr Putin's return to the Krem-lin is looking less certain, and Russia's po-litical system seems even less stable. The differences between the two men are mainly stylistic, but the signs of a political struggle are real.