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Vladimir Putin at 19th meeting of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
10:31 10/02/2012

Putin ready for dialogue

Part of the opposition believes that dialogue is not possible without Putin’s unconditional surrender. These people are not ready for any talks or dialogue. There are others who are also dissatisfied with the status quo and want to express their opinion. For them dialogue in the form of articles, speeches and Q&A sessions began long ago.

MIGRANYAN, Andranik
Vladimir Putin visits Siberian Federal District
10:14 30/01/2012

Vladimir Putin’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

The problem is, Putin can no longer really be many of the historic characters he tries to play. Putin is no longer the outsider trying to save and reform the system; he is now the system. He is not Stolypin. He is the Tsar, with others having to assume those roles to try to persuade and to advise him.

HILL, Fiona, GADDY, Clifford
Opposition rally "For Fair Election" in Moscow
10:14 03/02/2012

The Russian opposition needs institutional representation

The authorities are adapting to the new reality. Putin is a man of his time, just like Mikhail Gorbachev was a man of his time. Gorbachev is often unfairly criticized for not being able to foresee all the consequences of his actions. Putin is facing the same problem. He needs time to adapt to the new situation.

CHIESA, Giulietto
Rally For Honest Election on Bolotnaya Square
10:45 24/01/2012

Why Russia Needs Competitive Elections

What would make for an interesting presidential election campaign? Choice. Voters would like to choose between candidates based on their platforms, their views on the problems facing the country and their proposed solutions. And even if one candidate has a huge advantage over the others, as is the case now, a competitive campaign would motivate him to articulate what he considers to be the main problem.

SONIN, Konstantin
Newly-appointed US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul visits museum in Moscow
09:52 26/01/2012

McFaul's costly mistake in Russia

Since the 1990s many Russians have harbored an aversion toward toward American participation in managing Russian affairs either directly or through U.S. political and economic advisers. Regardless of his alleged authoring of the “Reset” policy, McFaul is famous in both the United States and Russia as a supporter of the American policy on democracy promotion worldwide.

MIGRANYAN, Andranik
Opposition rally "For Fair Election" in Moscow
09:50 11/01/2012

Will anti-Putin demonstrations impact on Russia’s forthcoming presidential elections?

Prediction is that Vladimir Putin will overcome recent protests and return to the Presidency in an election in March, but to retain his popularity he needs to give close look to rectify certain significant issues and concerns.

DAS KUNDU, Nivedita
Vladimir Putin at Christmas service in St. Petersburg
09:29 10/01/2012

Putin and the Uses of History

Putin, it seems, has embraced Pyotr Stolypin as the model for his current premiership and putative future presidency because Stolypin tried to accomplish the political, economic and social transformation of Russia through nonrevolutionary means. Putin’s favorite quote these days is, “We do not need great upheavals. We need a great Russia”.

GADDY, Clifford, HILL, Fiona
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with writers and members of Russian Book Union
10:27 30/09/2011

Vladimir Putin – presiding over a generation of Russian history

The reality remains as follows: the President is appointed first, and only later is elected. It seems that the President is self-appointed, and afterwards elected. This means that the concept of there being alternatives is completely absent from Russia’s political tradition.

GOMART, Thomas
Vladislav Surkov
10:24 05/01/2012

Surkov’s departure shakes up Russian politics

Vladislav Surkov’s departure from the Kremlin is the most significant event in Russian politics in 2011. Now the politically engaged portion of society is awaiting changes, liberalization and other positive developments

MUKHIN, Alexei
Vladimir Putin visits Far East Federal District
16:11 22/12/2011

Problems for Putin and his sense of self-sufficiency

Putin is a self-sufficient and confident leader. This is both a positive and a negative. He has a systemic approach and a cohesive picture in his head that helps him orient himself in domestic affairs. These are his strong points as a politician.

ZLOBIN, Nikolai
Opposition rally "For Fair Election" in Moscow
10:08 05/01/2012

Russia’s smouldering 'White Revolution'

The Putin regime has little to fear from the latest public protests which, despite drawing large crowds, are apolitical. True politics will only become possible in Russia when both the opposition and the regime focus on the tedious work of practical politics.

PETRO, Nicolai N.
President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Chelyabinsk Region
10:09 29/09/2011

Medvedev’s decision to step down may serve Russia well

President Medvedev would be a very good president for the next term in office in so-called normal times, prosperous times, stable times. But what we see today is everything but stability and prosperity: problems in Europe, financial problems in the U.S., the slowdown of the Chinese economy, and, finally North African and Arab revolutions.

DUTKIEWICZ, Piotr
Former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin attending the conference "Economic policy: 20 years later" hosted by the Gaidar Institute.
16:04 20/12/2011

Kudrin could unite the radicals and the establishment

The current structure of Russia’s political system is absolutely unacceptable. It is blocking the country’s development and pushing it towards a revolution or catastrophe. We must overhaul our political system in order to create a liberal rightwing party that would be independent of both the external forces and the Russian leadership.

GOZMAN, Leonid
10:28 29/09/2011

Pudrin Lives!

Kudrin’s firing is a very important event, much more than Putin’s anticlimactic announcement over the weekend that he was going to demote Medvedev and return as president himself.

GADDY, Clifford
Russian Prime Minister V.Putin holds conference in Moscow
13:20 28/09/2011

Putin’s master plan to reunite the European continent into something new

Putin’s probable success in the Russian presidential election raises an important question about whether Russian foreign policy will change its direction, and especially whether Russia will continue down a course of European cooperation.

RAHR, Alexander
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks at 7th United Russia Party Conference
09:28 26/09/2011

Putin back, change not expected

Putin will be more powerful, although nobody doubted even before who the boss was. Medvedev loses some weight, but remains one of two keys to everything. Clarity is better anyway than the irritating intrigue of recent months, so now it is time to start to formulate policy.

LUKYANOV, Fyodor
Dmitry Medvedev conducts Russian Security Council meeting
10:06 20/09/2011

'Useful idiots' back Medvedev's re-election

It makes no difference whether Putin or Medvedev is the next president. Moreover, if Putin decides that it is more advantageous for him to have Medvedev stay in office, it might only further delay urgently needed reforms to Russia’s institutions and political and economic systems.

RYZHKOV, Vladimir
Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin in Astrakhan Region
12:11 16/09/2011

New uncertainties enliven Russia’s election season

It is not inconceivable that Putin will invite Medvedev to proceed with his blessing to a second election and a second term. Increasingly hard to imagine is that in 2012, any more than in 2008, Putin will be content to withdraw from the political field or take on a tutelary role à la Deng Xiaoping in China or Lee Kwan Yew in Singapore.

COLTON, Timothy
14th OSCE Ministerial Council
14:54 14/09/2011

Electoral observers shouldn’t be political weapon

While the Russian government’s reluctance to host OSCE observers was widely interpreted in the West as a sign of its intention to avoid unwanted scrutiny of the allegedly rigged election, the true motive behind Russia’s stance was the fact that the OSCE monitoring plan lacked the clear and transparent rationale and compliance benchmarks.

KOSACHEV, Konstantin
President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin greeting each other
13:58 09/09/2011

Russia squanders its chance at democracy

While President Medvedev talks the talk, he has wasted a unique opportunity to contribute to Russia’s democratization. This may be because he cannot change the status quo, or because he is committed to playing the role assigned to him when he was appointed as Vladimir Putin’s successor in 2008.

COHEN, Ariel
V. Putin on expedition to Ubsunur Hollow Biosphere Preserve
11:21 06/10/2011

Putin’s Character: Discipline and loyalty drawn from a tough life growing up followed by the world of the KGB

The first impression on meeting Vladimir Putin is how short he. Immediately counter-balancing this is an impression of intense physical energy, intensely controlled. At 58, and after 11 years in power, Putin still looks as if he were in his late 40s, and fit enough to keep going in power for a great many years to come.

LIEVEN, Anatol
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
14:54 23/08/2011

Russia's Curious Campaign

Russia’s presidential campaign and its aftermath will test the Obama administration’s management of a relationship it has claimed as one of its great successes even as Mr. Obama seeks his own reelection. The best course for the United States—and one that would also be wise for more than a few aspiring reality TV stars—is to stay off the screen.

SAUNDERS, Paul J.
Informal meeting of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin
09:55 15/07/2011

Tandem: Sit down and talk it over

The public discourse has seriously deteriorated, while a parallel, unofficial but in its own way efficient pseudo government has been formed. Decision-making processes have been almost entirely monopolized by people who have never been legitimately granted this authority, and the state’s powerful administrative resources are mired in corruption and solely devoted to personal gain: systematized authority has been replaced with subjective improvisation.

ZLOBIN, Nikolai
Dmitry Medvedev lays wreath at Unknown Soldier's Grave
11:05 12/07/2011

Presidential Election: Whose support can Dmitry Medvedev rely on?

Regardless of who becomes president in 2012, there is no alternative to modernization. Key economic indicators, the state of society’s political structure, society’s overall state and its expectations of change all show that modernization has no alternative.

YURGENS, Igor
Dmitry Medvedev chairs Russia's Security Council meeting
13:22 01/05/2011

Russia’s tandem: traditional and post-modern

The most interesting aspect of the Libyan story is the obvious difference in approach of the two leaders. President Medvedev decided to abstain in the UN Security Council, in other words he preferred to let the operation go. Prime Minister Putin harshly criticized Western intervention. This ambivalent stance reflects not a personal controversy, but two different perceptions of international affairs. The one of the prime minister might be called traditional, the one of the president – post-modern.

LUKYANOV, Fyodor
All-Russian Youth Forum "Seliger 2011"
10:57 07/07/2011

Presidential elections in Russia are very intriguing

It is clear that there will not be any real competition, but it is very interesting which of the two leaders, Medvedev or Putin, will be the next president. The decision on who will run for president will be made in the next few months. Nobody knows what these elections will bring.

COLTON, Timothy
Informal meeting of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin
13:21 23/06/2011

Medvedev-Putin tandem: steps to a fully-grown electoral democracy in Russia

Healthy electoral competition between Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin could be the natural end of the “dual power” relationship in Moscow, giving Russians the final choice on who should reside in the Kremlin for the next six years.

SERGI, Bruno
Vyacheslav Volodin meets heads of organizations to join United Popular Front
17:16 10/06/2011

Russia’s new political hybrid

Whoever will stand for the presidential election (and I have no doubt that the Putin–Medvedev tandem will smoothly reach that decision and announce it within a few months), national politics are always anchored in society and its political economy. From that perspective, the formation of the Russian People’s Front may have much deeper purposes. Let’s try to decipher these.

DUTKIEWICZ, Piotr
10:14 19/05/2011

Medvedev’s Answer

Medvedev promised that his political system, unlike Putin’s hierarchy will become extremely transparent, elastic and internally complex. However it seems that everything is going exactly the opposite way.

ZLOBIN, Nikolai
Dmitry Medvedev
11:42 11/05/2011

Dmitry Medvedev’s three years in office: achievements, results and influence

Three years ago, in early May, Dmitry Medvedev took his oath of office, becoming the third president of the Russian Federation. The Valdai International Discussion Club asked some of its members to share their impressions and thoughts regarding Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency.

SHENG Shiliang, BAKLANOV, Andrei, LEGVOLD, Robert
Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin visit Rosa Khutor ski resort
13:16 06/05/2011

The tandem has fulfilled its task

Dmitry Medvedev’s three years as president should be assessed within the framework of the distributive function regarding both internal and external political issues. This tangibly increased room for maneuver within the “tandemocracy” even though the current president’s political portrait acquired increasingly distinct features.

STIER, Gabor
13:45 30/03/2011

Will Putin-Medvedev tandem prompt two-party system?

The emblem of Russia is a double-headed eagle: one head looking one way, the other in the opposite direction. Medvedev and Putin can now be seen as having a similar function to these two symbolic heads: facing in different directions, but at the same time demonstrating the country’s might.

RAHR, Alexander
13:50 15/03/2011

Russia’s political changes seem to be geared in the opposite direction

Dmitry Medvedev has repeatedly stated that freedom is better than its alternative and that a modern economy should be based on the free individual. The government should retreat from the market, courts should protect contracts, law enforcement should enforce the Russian legislation, and officials should be executing their duties rather than dividing resources and taking bribes.

ALEKSASHENKO, Sergey
Dmitry Medvedev meets with members of Valdai Discussion Club
12:36 29/08/2011

Valdai Club will discuss scenarios of Russia's development post 2012

The annual summit of the Valdai International Discussion Club is to be held in the Kaluga Region and Moscow in November, 2011.

09:43 26/09/2011

Quick reaction to Putin’s announcement

Russian leadership is in some sense a collectivity, with Putin acting as primus inter pares among a group of 4-6 top leaders who together make the decisions.

GORENBURG, Dmitry
 
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