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11 Dec, 2007 12:07

Putin-Medvedev duo: Russian eagle gets two heads?

Dmitry Medvedev's proposal to have Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister is the latest twist in the political drama surrounding Putin’s future role. Earlier Putin supported Medvedev as a presidential candidate.

For many this will be another reason to vote for Medvedev.

Viktor Linnik, Political Analyst and the Editor-in-Chief of Slovo newspaper stresses that “Putin finally made a decision to choose someone he can fully trust. No surprises with Medvedev. He has been working with Putin for 17 years or so. Putin's final pick was to find someone he would never have any doubt about.”

Dmitry Medvedev is not well known to most of the world but that has changed with Putin’s backing as he is now favourite to win next year’s presidential election.

The 42-year-old is a trained lawyer, chairs Gazprom’s Board of Directors and used to be President Putin’s Chief of Staff before becoming the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister. His responsibilities included heading national priority projects to improve living standards.

Medvedev says tackling social problems is a top priority if he’s elected President.

According to Linnik, “With Medvedev we will probably see more of the same: Russia being more assertive in the world affairs and probably more on social problems inside the country, something badly needed by the nation these days as we see such a disparity in incomes and living standards between the rich and the poor.”

Analysts predicted three Russian politicians might make the ballot: new Prime Minister Victor Zubkov and First Deputy Prime Ministers Sergey Ivanov and Dmitry Medvedev.

Now Medvedev doesn’t only have Putin’s and United Russia’s support but three other parties as well.

Fair Russia, the Agrarian Party, and the Civil force party also named Medvedev as their candidate.

Medvedev is seen as a moderate pro-business figure which will please Russia’s partners. He's popular among many in business and politics and could become even more so by promising to invite such a powerful man to join his team.

It's expected Medvedev will follow the path set by Putin and now Putin might be more hands on than people were expecting, as the two old friends share visions and ideas.

Now it's up to the Russian people to decide if the pair will be leading them into the future.

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