Medvedev-Putin tensions grow as 2012 elections get closer

[Keith Bee]

Source: EurActiv

Russian elites are taking sides as public opinion becomes increasingly polarised between support for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, writes Denis Maksimov, a public affairs consultant and an expert on EU-Russia relations, in an exclusive commentary for EurActiv.

"What in 2007 was barely noticeable has now come well under the spotlight: Medvedev is not an extension of 'Tzar' Putin anymore. As elites take sides, public opinion in Russia is becoming increasingly polarised.

Medvedev lacks charisma and loses to Putin when it comes to appealing to the majority of Russia's population. Putin succeeded in establishing himself as an 'iron public leader' by pushing the button of Stalinist relics in the Russian mentality and focusing on the electorate living outside major urban centres.

While Medvedev draws his support mainly from the upper middle class, comprising what is left of the 'intelligentsia' and the liberal-oriented population, Putin is the only candidate to appeal to the so-called 'siloviki' group (i.e. the Russian army, the special services, the public security services and the prosecution service), and finds his support mostly in the regional grassroots. Putin's electoral base is therefore much bigger in number."



Read more: http://www.euractiv.com/en/global-europe/medvedev-putin-tensions-grow-2012-elections-get-closer-analysis-504662

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But Medvedev has his supporters and Putin his detractors as well, as Maksimov explains later in the article. I've been saying for a couple of years now that Dmitry Anatolievich might have a big surprise in store for ol' Vlad.

[rpannier]

1. Putin has been openly criticizing Medvedev lately

I still think (from the Russian Television I see here in Asia) that Putin is the odds-on favorite if he runs (which I'm sure he will)