Thanks Robert, nice background info, I like your stuff. What I’d like to know a little more about is who exactly that “business faction” was, and how they became embedded after the collapse? Thanks...

Excellent analysis, not beating around the bush. Not only are the two men in charge in Russia fed up by the incesant attempts at sensationalizing their relationship, but so is the growing number of reading public. The attempts to drive a wedge used to be funny. Now, they are a yawn.

Great article on the West's response to Putin. He was the party-pooper at the end of the 90s - insisting on making everybody behave like adults instead of a bunch of teenagers with their first "kegger". Nobody wants that! What a wet blanket. He even cost Western powers some serious money, and they are still smarting over it. The West was having too much fun acting like the Lords of Creation in Moscow and making ambitious plans for Russian oil (without Russia), and he put the brakes on all of that. It makes me laugh when people still gnash their teeth at him. They refuse to believe that the party is over, ten years later. At the same time, I wonder if Putin and Medvedev are keeping the Russian power-brokers guessing, too. There are two-legged sharks who would give Medvedev a real bad time if it wasn't for Putin watching M's back. Why announce plans early, if they can otherwise can keep certain people off-balance?

“Vladimir Putin personifies that magical moment when Russia went from being a crippled, post-Soviet state, to a relatively healthy, modern nation. Many will never forgive him for that.” Quite remarkable, that. First, when one reads Medvedev’s recent desperation-tinged descriptions of Russia, one wonders where is the “relatively healthy, modern nation” that Bridge writes of. The dismay is reinforced when one compares Russia with other East and Central European nations in just about any table of economic and social development indicators that has ever been published. Secondly, whereas Putin steered Russia away from the confusion of the Yeltsin era, he has not steered it away from its Soviet orientations, but rather back towards these. Stalin is again heroized, his cynical propaganda spin is again the central orientation of Moscow’s understanding of “history”, investigative journalists have a short life-expectation in Russia, most of the time Russia is at odds with most of its neighbours, political control is in the hands of KGB/FSB figures and their and their protégés, and presidential succession seems to be determined by a nod from on high, with elections of dubious quality serving as a necessary afterthought. Thirdly, the West is in no position to either forgive or decline to forgive Putin for anything, as Putin is answerable to Russians, not to the West. However, it would be very much in the West’s interests if Russia truly was a “relatively healthy, modern nation” with a functioning democracy, genuine free media and the ability to uncover and embrace its history without fear of criminal prosecution if its conclusions veer from the Stalinist line. While the West very much regrets that Putin has not steered Russia to such a desirable status, it is for Russians to decide whether or not they will forgive him for that.

I think Putin is the best thing that has ever happened to Russia, I see him for what he is, he is down to earth, straightforward. I like those qualities in a leader. He could be my commanding officer any day. I like Putin and so does my wife and if she approves him, he can't be that bad as a person. Great man, in difficult times, I'm sure he will go to history as one of the greatest leaders ever. Go Putin.

Loved the piece, I am a regular viewer to rt, not all people in the west fear Putin, some of us respect him and actually like him,nice to see someone poking a finger in the yanks eye.

Great article Mr Bridge, thanks. And as PM Putin have said -“We are standing firmly on both feet and always look to the future.” I have no doubt, future belongs to Russia !

Well i don't believe Putin did it all alone but a lot changed here in Russia since 1990s. You can make fun of that "relatively healthy, modern nation" passage all you want, but you can't deny that. You can get a university-grade education for free (read - for government money), get enlightened on how Russia is a failure of a nation you think it is, and move to paradise on earth which is Latvia or Poland or whatever-country-is-so-much-better-than-russia. Or you can stay here and get a satisfying salary, which wasn't an option for a lot of best-educated Russians even 15 years ago. now i like doing that, so i'll address your points one by one >he has not steered it away from its Soviet orientations depends on what do you mean by that. Should we have disbanded our army, scrapped our nukes and pretend to be another Easter European country only 100 times bigger? Now you don't think that could work, do you? >cynical propaganda spin View of Stain hasn't changed in Russia since late 1950s, and nobody is "heroisizing" him, don't overplay that topic. >Medvedev’s recent desperation-tinged descriptions of Russia I don't know which country are you from, but is it so good that there's nothing wrong with it? Really? I mean is it actually so free on press, that your own president would bash its shortcomings on national TV? And you may bash Russians for being drunkards or overly motherland-stalin-putin-crazed or any other stereotype but desperation was never a trait feeling among them. So i'd call Medvedev's message constructive. I mean, he doesn't plan to leave things as they are, he's planning to spend next two and a half years making them better. >journalists have a short life-expectation >political control is in the hands of KGB/FSB figures >presidential succession seems to be determined... >elections of dubious quality now you don't actually think like that, nobody does

@Marzipan6 Russia's economic and social decline would have anything to do with the fact that the country was looted for a decades by a western alligned Oligarchy that saw the collapse of the industrial base which was Soros intention saw the wealth of the average Russian decline by 75%. The political opposition are the one responsible for this during the 90's and in the pay of western intelligence through NED. More journalists actually died under Yeltsin for the same reason 90's era corruption one of which was writing a book about how Berezovsky killed a media mogal to aquire stake in his media empire and his links to organised crime and contract murder as well as Chechen terrorism in his previous book who sits comfortably in London bragging about his connections to the British establishment and publicly vowed the violent overthrough of the Russian government. He and the other Oligarchs who aquired there fortune through bribery, theft and murder are label exiled business tycons and businessmen. Stalin is not heroized that is western propaganda.

Putin and Medvedev are creative geniuses. They are both thinking with the whole brain and this is obvious in how they take responsibility for the 75% grown-up choices necessary for the human to be other than a "victim." They are leaders who can be trusted in other words since the adult brain is not just active, but the higher intelligence is seen in how humanitarian they truly are: no totalitarian approach when this is what has been the past answer to the growth of chaos into an unknown balanced? more future order. Of course the countries of China and Russia have been compromised first in this game of planet earth and who can own it all. The brains of criminals have a one track mind and their thinking is not about free or fair and certainly not at all with respect to balance - most assuredly not about sharing and caring! Thus, the WEST had its turn to be great and took a detour into the abomination of full spectrum corruption in every way. George Bush was and is a wet brain. This science demonstrates in how his mind cannot choose the higher intelligence of adult thinking since critical mass poisoning happened years ago in his liver and this cannot be cured at this late stage. The U.S. government is not run by the people it is controlled by the totalitarian idea of brands to force the population into a never ending cycle of disposable commodities. Russia is far more protected with the brilliant grown up leaders and Carrie Dann, grandmother of the Western Shoshone, has a message for Russia: think seven generations ahead!

Johnx writes, “Stalin is not heroized that is western propaganda.” Last year a new school teaching manual appeared in Russia entitled, “A History of Russia 1900-1945” which is to form the basis of a new state-approved text book for use in schools. The manual claims that Stalin acted “entirely rationally” in executing and imprisoning millions of people in the GULAG. It informs teachers that the Great Terror of the 1930s came about because Stalin “did not know who would deal the next blow, and for that reason he attacked every known group and movement, as well as those who were not his allies or of his mindset.” An earlier manual called Stalin “an effective manager”. The manual, which follows Putin’s take on history, has been soundly criticised by prominent Russian historian Roy Medveded who scorned Stalin’s “entirely rational” decimation of the Red Army officer corps on the eve of WW2, and by Alexander Kamensky, head of the history department at the Russia State University for the Humanities who claims that the manual indicates teaching history in schools has become “an ideological instrument.” "The Soviet Union was not a democracy," the book admits, "but in terms of social policy and programs, it was the best model of a fair and just society for millions of people around the world." Including, presumably, for the millions who were enslaved and killed in the GULAG. Stalin’s cynical lie that the Baltics freely and legally joined the Soviet Union continues to be embraced by Putin. Stalin’s military exploits are celebrated in ever greater extravagance in Moscow each year. A refurbished railway station in Moscow is complete with a wall engraving praising Stalin. About a year ago, a widely publicised poll in Russia identified Stalin and the third-greatest Russian personage. But according to some, it is nonetheless all Western propaganda.

It is true that Putin keeps the west guessing due to the fact of his past actions. When Yeltsin was in power he allowed a greater democracy than Putin. When Russian media would attack Yeltsin he did not take his critics as rivals. Though when Putin came into power he attacked his so called "rivals". In other words Obama is correct when he stated that Putin has one foot in the future and the other in the past. Yes, many people might take this to offense but before Putin came into power the media and everyone in Russia had freedom of speech but now Putin controls that. Putin would attack people who gave him a bad appearance or would blame it on other countries such as the United States. Ultimately Putin and Medvedev will have the last laugh because they will remain in power for a while and no one will be able to stop them since Russians are used to a superpower government that will attack, with no fear, its rivals.

P. M. Putin has achieved almost the impossible in Russia and that is probably why he is so highly regarded by Russian people. The key thing now is if he can deliver a high standard of living and good quality of life for the country's citizens. With the huge natural resources and education of the Russian people it is very possible for another huge success. In time, P. M. Putin may make it possible for the average citizen to enjoy economic and political freedom that would have been impossible just a few years ago.

well well well... Putin is a genius, end of story. What he may be doing may not always be the right thing. Putin is good to Russia, and he is good for the Russian people. He is the best candidate, and no matter how long he is president (or in power) he knows what he is doing. Long Live Putin, and Long live Russia.