Who’s the boss?

Yet Mr Medvedev is more than Mr Putin’s obedient shadow. He is, after all, Mr Putin’s choice as potential successor. Whether the potential is realised depends on Mr Putin’s own moves. [If he had] really wanted to stay in the Kremlin he could have remained president. [Mr] Putin also displays no apparent interest in his new job. [So] why has he not left? One explanation is that the security risks are too high. He is safer in high office. The post of prime minister confers immunity…

There are also domestic pressures. Inflation is running above 15 per cent and food prices are rising even faster. The macroeconomic stability that Mr Putin prided himself on is looking shaky. [The] perception of stability linked to Mr Putin is proving fragile. [This] may explain Mr Medvedev’s talk of the need to modernise Russia’s economic system and uphold the rule of law. The rhetoric does not mean Mr Medvedev is departing from Mr Putin’s line; all the signs are that they are in agreement…Democracy, it says, is preferable not for ideological reasons, but because it is the only effective way of resolving conflicts among the elites and protecting their financial interests. Liberalisation must start from the top and be tightly managed by the Kremlin. By staying in power as prime minister [Mr] Putin at least has a chance to revise the legacy of his rule. Stepping aside would be the best measure of his success.

Excerpted from an article in ‘The Economist’