Putin Solidifies Power and Moves Forward

Well last week Putin led his United Russia to a landslide victory in the Parliamentary elections. And since then there has been even more whispering and wondering and chatter about whether he will try to run again in March or if he would name a successor. The name of a successor was ushered from Putin's lips yesterday and I can't say that I am very surprised by the choice.

World I would like to introduce the next President of Russia...........................................

Dmitri Medvedev.

Feeling a little lost? Not sure who this new leader is? Unless you have been following Russian politics and economics you are probably not familiar with this long time Putin aide and chairman of Russian energy giant Gazprom. Medvedev is from St. Petersburg and was a law professor and has been a Putin aide for many years. He has no real Kremlin support of his own and is not a big player in the power circle of Moscow.

In the last day there was some talk as to what naming such a weak successor meant for Putin's future, as well as Russia's, and there were some that even said that Putin wanted to leave all the power behind. Not sure how these experts got from all Putin's recent moves to him leaving public life. I have to say that I have seen nothing by Putin for the last 3 years that has signaled anything other than solidifying HIS power and increasing HIS control of the central government. Being a much classier and intelligent leader than Chavez, he doesn't appear to be making a move to change the country's constitution which bans him from running for a third term. However, he appears to have found a way around that obstacle, today the wires ran that Medvedev has asked that Putin serve as his Prime Minister.

Now if you didn't see that one coming, PLEASE don't call yourself an expert on Russia or her politics. I am NO expert and I have seen that coming for years not exactaly how it has played out, but I knew that Putin would not quietly retire from power. He has put too much into his goal of reclaiming Russia's past glory and expanding on it, to just hand her over to anyone without insuring that HIS path would be followed.

So the future of Russia after the March elections will have a solid United Russia power base in parliament with a new weak president in Medvedev and the ever strong and ever present Putin there in the fore-front as Prime Minister. And look for the roles of a strong president and weak premier to flip. And don't be surprised if that doesn't become the permanent face of Russia. A weak hand picked president by Putin with Putin running the show as Premier. Putin is determined to see Russia as the super-power that she was and he will not step out of public life until he is sure that her position in the world is secured to his liking.