By Barb Adams
GCN Live.com
Questions regarding Medvedev’s effectiveness as president and whether Putin chose him for the position to serve his own desires to regain the presidency.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (left) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (right)
The decision by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to swap places may have solidified Russia’s political future for years to come, but creates questions regarding Medvedev’s effectiveness as president and whether Putin chose him for the position to serve his own desires to regain the presidency.
This past week Vladimir Putin announced he will seek a third term as president, which could possibly last until 2024. Putin’s announcement was delivered by current President Dmitry Medvedev before the United Russia party’s convention, silencing many in the crowd who had held hopes for Medvedev’s visions for a more open, democratic country. Medvedev will step aside as president and become prime minister, the position Putin currently holds.
So did Medvedev ever really have a chance to remain as president, or did Putin place him in that position only to serve his own means? In a report in The Daily Beast, Owen Matthews states that “An early indication that Medvedev had little chance of ever holding on to the presidency came last week when a liberal, business-friendly party inspired by Medvedev’s calls for a more open and less corrupt society were sabotaged by Putin loyalists. Billionaire oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov (a metals magnate and owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team) had been handpicked by the Kremlin to lead Right Cause – a tame opposition party…which had the blessing of Medvedev and was the closest thing Russia would have to a real voice of dissent in parliamentary elections in 2012. Last Tuesday, Prokhorov was ousted from his own party, after refusing candidate lists handed down from Putin. The detonation of the Right Cause project was an early warning that Medvedev’s political traction – which had been tenuous at best – had all but slipped away.” Adding to Medvedev’s plight as president was the resignation of Russia’s popular Finance Minister, Alexei Kudrin, who resigned on Monday after a dispute with Medvedev, stating that he would not accept a position in a future government with Medvedev as head.
Before Putin became prime minister, the role had held little power; and most agree that the position will likely be demoted once Putin returns to the Kremlin and Medvedev becomes prime minister. Medvedev will likely continue on as he has all along, being nothing more than a figurehead. Even while he was president, Medvedev never really held the powers associated with the position, always being overshadowed by Putin. And perhaps that is why Putin, who was forced to relinquish his presidency in 2008 because of term limits, chose inexperienced Dmitry Medvedev of St. Petersburg as his successor, knowing that Medvedev could never challenge his political base.
Ironically, it was under Medvedev’s presidency that amendments were made to the Russian constitution allowing the presidential term to be extended to six years, opening the door for Putin’s return to the presidency.
Unfortunately, with Putin’s return to the presidency, Russia could see a return to a more corrupt authoritarian state. As Matthews points out in his article, “During his first two terms as president, Putin presided over a systematic elimination of anti-government TV channels; banned local elections and excluded genuine opposition parties from Parliament; jailed or exiled oligarchs who refused to toe the Kremlin line; appointed veterans of the KGB like himself to positions of power; and according to State Department cables published by WikiLeaks, probably sanctioned the murder of enemies of the state in London, Dubai, and Vienna. The number of state employees also increased by 50 percent…and not coincidentally, bribes and corruption rose to a third of Russia’s GDP.”
It is unfortunate that the more liberal, democratic-minded Medvedev could not have been more effective as president. In a speech given early on in his presidency, Medvedev stated, “Today, for the first time in our history we have the chance to prove to ourselves and the world that Russia can develop democratically.” Medvedev had a dream, but his dream will have to wait out those of Vladimir Putin.
Barb Adams is the host of Amerika Now talk radio show, which airs on GCN Saturdays 9:00p-1:00am Central Time. Listen to the show On Demand.