Putin versus Medvedev, Chapter #823

Are you ready for the latest round of Who Wants to Be a President: Putin or Medvedev?

Today, two UK papers came out with their version of what’s going on with Russia’s ruling tandem. The Guardian interviews a United Russia deputy who says Medvedev wants to stay on. Near the end of the story, you’ll see that the deputy, Konstantin Zatulin, was quickly demoted last month after he spoke out against Medvedev’s stance on Libya (which is softer than Putin’s). Shortly after that, another United Russia deputy, Alexei Chadayev, was removed from his high-ranking post after making the same mistake. A sign of Medvedev’s refusal to stomach discord or something else? Considering that the party is wholly controlled by Putin’s men (Putin himself, while not officially a member of the party, heads United Russia), it’s unlikely those decisions were made without him.

Next up is The Independent, which also explores the supposed rift between Putin and Medvedev, with color from the president’s visit last week to the studios of TV Rain. Is Medvedev on a new publicity campaign? His surprise announcement of an unprecedented press conference to be held on May 18 would seem to support that theory. Whether it means anything, rather than allowing us to write the next chapter in the game, is another story altogether. As usual, watch this space.