Dmitry Medvedev dopo la candidatura presidenziale:
“Collego la mia candidatura con la necessità di proseguire nel corso intrapreso dal Paese otto anni fa. Il corso scelto dal nostro popolo, che ha prevenuto il crollo dell’economia e della sfera sociale, la guerra civile. Il corso scelto dal presidente Putin”.
L’Economist ironizza e chiama Medvedev “un’estensione del Sig. Putin”.
Secondo Strategic Forecasting, Putin continuerà comunque a orientare il corso della politica russa; inoltre il ruolo della Russia come grande potenza è più importante delle singole personalità dei suoi leader politici.
We suspect that Putin will continue to pull the strings and that he is smart enough to figure out how he will do it. [. . .] Whether Putin is there, Medvedev is there, or it is a player to be named later, the Russians are not kidding on Kosovo. They do not plan to be rolled over as they were in 1999. Nor are they kidding about a sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union. They are certainly not kidding about state domination of the economy or of the need for a strong leader to control the state.
The point is that the situation in Russia, down to a detail like Kosovo, is very much part of a single, coherent fabric that goes well beyond personalities. The response that Russia made to its near-death experience was pretty much its only option, and having chosen that option, the rest unfolds regardless of personalities. Putin has played his role well. He could continue to play it. But the focus should be on Russia as a great power seeking to resume its role, and not on the personalities, not even one as powerful as Putin, and certainly not Medvedev.