Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has been making a few moves of his own of late - and not only on the dance floor. The more independent stance by Medvedev suggests he is at odds with Putin on a number of issues. However as is often the case with Kremlin politics - things aren't always the way they appear.
There have been sharp divergences of opinion between the leaders on recent occasions. On a video posted on the Kremlin website Medvedev was critical of Stalin. Remarks such as “I’m convinced that the memory of national tragedies is no less sacred than the memory of victories..." and references to "mass crimes against the people" differ markedly from Putin's more nuanced, at times positive commentary on the Stalin legacy.
More recently Putin likened the allied effort in Libya to “a medieval call for a crusade.” Without directly referring to Putin by name, Medvedev issued a cautionary warning - “Under no circumstances is it acceptable to use expressions that essentially lead to a clash of civilizations — such as ‘crusade’ and so on.”
Some pundits see the president's more independent stance as indication of a power struggle in the ruling elite, or even a Medvedev inspired 'coup' of some sort. This is highly unlikely. A more strategic read on the president's differences with Putin is that an independent Medvedev could prove politically advantageous for the ruling party in the run-up to the elections.
Putin and the United Russia party have dropped in the polls. Putin's own popularity rating has seen a drop of some 21 percent. The time is ripe for a reform candidate to challenge the status quo. The success of such a challenger is less likely if Medvedev runs as a reformer, but whether or not he he would be prepared to be a faux-reformer is another question. He has shaken off the 'Putin lapdog' image to some degree. There is no question that he has influence within a certain sphere but to what extent he can exercise it is open to question, especially in areas of reform.
Medvedev may appear to be working at cross-purposes with Putin on some issues - but Putin himself may not be altogether averse to shaking things up internally. Former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov as an example was a big Putin supporter, but the PM remained quiet when Medvedev gave Luzhkov the old heave-ho. The mayor had become both an embarrassment and a political liability.
Medvedev has been pushing for less state interference in the economy. He proposed replacing officials on state-controlled company boards - some of them Putin cronies - with independent directors. This ambitious move is unlikely to be as far reaching as some may have hoped. A senior Russian official announced that government representation will remain strong on state-controlled company boards.
It's hard to envisage sweeping reform so long as Putin and his associates have a hand in these affairs. Any 'reform measures' are likely to be mainly of the symbolic sort. The very term 'reform' is somewhat ambiguous in a Russian system that is rife with corruption.
It would be a mistake to see these initiatives as an attempt at some type of unilateral action on the part of the president. Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rather tellingly sees "no conflict" between Putin and Medvedev in these matters - it seems to be more about how the changes are implemented:
“The subject of replacing officials with independent directors has long been on the agenda. It is another matter, in the context of carrying out the instructions of the head of state, how we’ll monitor the implementation of state directives in those companies where the government is the majority shareholder.”
Medvedev has not only been staking out a voice for himself - he's also been staking out some dance space.
Check out dancing Dmitry's moves below:
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