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Excellent long analysis
GUARD: "On the face of it, Vladimir Putin, the macho fixer, and Dmitry Medvedev, the dorkish lawyer, are polar opposites. Yet Russia's prime minister and president, if we are to believe their own words, are admiring friends."
AND: "Perhaps weary of constant accusations that he is Putin's poodle (or Robin to Putin's Batman, as WikiLeaks had it), Medvedev has shown some signs of asserting his authority."
AND: "Yet, each time, the apparent cracks in Russia's tandem have turned out to be illusory. If Cameron thinks Medvedev's seemingly softer stance on Libya means he is more likely than Putin to approve military action in Syria, he will be sorely mistaken. On Khodorkovsky, the president's statements look enlightened. So what? The businessman is still behind bars and not due for release until 2017."
PLUS: "It is not a given that Putin wants the presidency back. He has shown himself able to stay the Alpha Dog (WikiLeaks again) in the Russian leadership without a throne in the Kremlin. Medvedev is useful in that he is viewed as more democratic in the west; plus his technical savvy and his talk of modernisation play well with some younger people. He could remain in post, while Putin preserves his position — and image — as the real boss and man of deeds, forever chugging to the rescue on his Harley-Davidson three-wheeler."
