From the article:
The man endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as his successor is a bookish former law professor known more for his scholarly intellect than his political prowess.
Dmitry Medvedev currently serves as the first deputy prime minister and he is also chairman of Gazprom, the largest company in Russia. At the age of 42, he is poised to become the youngest leader of Russia since Tsar Nicholas II in 1894.
Medvedev’s rise comes as no surprise to most Russians. Following Putin’s landslide victory in this month’s parliamentary elections, there have been two popular theories on how he would maintain his enormous power after his term expires early next year. The first entailed a change in the constitution to allow Putin to run for a third term. The second had Putin choosing a weak successor whom he could easily control.
Medvedev’s endorsement seems to fit Plan B. He has never run for any office before and he owes his entire career to Putin.
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December 15, 2007 at 12:37 am
zalexandra
Hello, it would take ages to type my point of view here. But there is one opinion I found here, if you read this you will feel a lot more clever:)
Ps- the blog is not mine:)
http://squirrelcommunism.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/with-all-due-respect-its-not-putins-russia/