In 2000 Vladimir Putin was elected to his first term as the president of Russia, and was then reelected for a second term shortly after. Seeing as he would not be allowed to run for a third time, Medvedev promptly stepped up to fill the position. Ironically (or perhaps not so ironically) Putin was immediately named Prime Minister, and this almost double leadership style ensued. It was always believed that Putin maintained the majority of the power in the Russian political scene, and given Medvedev's immediate endorsement for Putin to be reelected in 2012, this certainly did appear to be the case. This media is whimsical and entertaining, however it does in fact constitute this type of rule that we have discussed in class, and it shows the close relationship that the two share. Laugh if you'd like, but Putin himself, and the entire Russian political leadership for that matter, are nothing to laugh at.
Jacob, I think this is an interesting phenomenon in the case of Russia. It is evident that the tandem leadership between Putin and Medvedev is still very much alive in 2016, sixteen years since Putin first became President. I think this picture of the two working out perfectly summarizes that.
ReplyDeleteIt is also very interesting to read the comments on the youtube site. The work of Russian internet trolls is very evident there.
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