So what does Mend.. Medeb ... whatever ... foretell for Russia?

Great Debates
1

Dmitry Medvedev (former lawyer and fan of Deep Purple) has been elected Russia’s new President.

Stooge for Putin, holding his place until he is elgible to be President again (the rule is no more than two consecutive terms, but I believe he could run again next time)? Or will he slowly exert some of his own ambitions for Russia? If so are they as liberal as his reputation has it?

What does it bespeak for future US relations with Russia that both Democratic nominees feel that knowing much about him is unimportant, no more is needed than to know, as Obama said, that “He is somebody who was hand-picked by Putin. Putin has been very clear that he will continue to have the strongest hand in Russia in terms of
running the government.” Is Kremlin watching really that simple? I know it can be cryptic but isn’t there more to it than that alone?

Bush did ignore Russia and the Bear is now resurgent with oil and gas wealth and anti-Western rhetoric. They are using those resources to fight for dominance over an Eastern Europe that they had once dominated. And yet we also need them to work together to provide pressure on various other actors. How is this feat to be accomplished and how will/should America deal with Russia over the next decade?

2

Be as conciliatory as possible. Make peace. Build ties between Russia and the EU. View the new Russia as what it is – a new version of the PRI’s one-party Mexico, not a new Soviet Union.

3

It really is almost impossible to predict at this point. Medvedev may indeed Putin’s puppet in which case there will be little significant change in Russia. Or he may be pretending to defer to Putin as a ploy to get elected and plan to assert himself after he’s in office. You can bet that Putin’s pondering this same question.

4

No clue. But here’s a lesson from Ukranian TV News Anchor, Lyubov Yarovaya, on how to pronounce his name. :smiley: