Last weekend in Russia was marred by a horrible tragedy. An airplane crash killed a hockey team from Yaroslavl. By coincidence, it was Yaroslavl, where a political forum hosted by the Russian president, was taking place.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press
In her article ‘In Russian Leadership Battle, Medvedev Hints He Lacks Fire” Ellen Barry, the Moscow bureau chief of the New York Times, raises the problem of the significance of the political choice.
At the forum the audience was waiting for the answer to the question: who is going to be Russia’s next president. And once again, it became clear that Medvedev was not ready “to fight for the job”.
As Ellen Barry points out, “Mr. Medvedev entered his first term with enthusiasm that sometimes verged on delight. Though his supporters understood that his authority was provisional, most expected him to accrue power over time, gradually paving the way for a transition to a system not oriented around Mr. Putin”.
Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. None of Medvedev’s goals were implemented, including his favorite motto – fight with “legal nihilism” and “eternal corruption”.
Meanwhile, “Mr. Putin has been openly gearing up for his own political campaign. These facts have not been lost on Russia’s governing class, who has been sniffing the air like so many bloodhounds. The consensus on who will rule Russia next year has been moving slowly but surely in the direction of Mr. Putin”.
Still, some shifts among the political, business and intellectual elite left room for doubt that Medvedev would be remembered only as a political muppet, incapable of making his own decisions. But when the chance to prove it presented itself in Yaroslavl, Medvedev didn’t take it.
“What would Mr. Medvedev do? Put aside his prepared remarks and speak about the tragedy? Address the year’s devastating series of transport disasters? His choice mattered. As the more liberal partner of Russia’s ruling tandem, Mr. Medvedev still has power to guide Russia between authoritarianism and reform, though it is ebbing. When the moment came, Mr. Medvedev decided to go ahead with his script, a 30-minute discourse on the state’s approach to diversity”.
The conclusion is obvious. It is impossible to know whether Mr. Medvedev was permitted to carry out his own agenda, or not. But last week at Yaroslavl, when he “delivered a speech devoid of memorable lines”, the answer to the key question in Russian current politics became crystal clear.
