I've recently been reading on the subject of the upcoming Russian Presidential elections, which will happen in slightly over 10 months. Multiple sources, claiming to be "close to Putin" are claiming that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has made up his mind to run for reelection as President.
They're saying the Putin sees current President Dmitri Medvedev as becoming too cocky. Last week, Medvedev went on record stating "A person who thinks he can stay in power indefinitely is a danger to society...Russian history shows that monopolizing power leads to stagnation or civil war." Neither potential candidate has at this time officially announced their intentions towards running or not running in 2012.
Many are predicting a power struggle next year. This is quite possible. I highly doubt that Putin will back down. He's now been "called out," if you will. Something that his mentality simply will not allow.
Both men are shaping their public image to appeal to a different demographic of voters. While Putin is all about appearing action-oriented and targets the older generations and nationalists, Medvedev is working the younger crowd. He promises to bring Russia into a high-tech future and uses his relative youthfulness (13 years younger than 58-year old Putin) and display his tech savvy.
A point that I found interesting is that Medvedev recently began wearing a bold bomber jacket that reads "Russia's Commander-in-Chief". One of the powers of Russia's CiC is the ability to fire the Prime Minister. A bold move, indeed. To do so would be a grave move on Medvedev's part, for Putin controls the justice system as well as the intelligence and police systems.
It would appear that Medvedev has indeed become arrogant. This says he will not choose against running for president. At the same time, Putin will clearly not back down. He's been challenged and Vladimir Putin is not one to step down in a confrontation. I don't see the assassination of Medvedev as a viable option, it will bring too much pressure onto Putin. Therefore, Medvedev will have nothing to fear and will continue on the course he appears to have chosen.
The buildup to the election and subsequently the election itself will prove to be very interesting. I'll surely have more to come about this in the months to come
