Georgia Splits the Kremlin
Neither Vladimir Putin nor Dmitry Medvedev wants to invade Tbilisi, much as they may despise Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. But their stance is being increasingly challenged by nationalists who care not a whit about Russian plutocrats vast personal property holdings in the West.
MOSCOW – Dmitry Medvedev inherited the post of President of the Russian Federation from Vladimir Putin, and while Putin moved down the pecking order to become Prime Minister, speculation has abounded from the start of Medvedev’s presidency about an eventual split between Russia’s two highest leaders. The first days of the conflict in Georgia crushed this hypothesis.
MOSCOW – Dmitry Medvedev inherited the post of President of the Russian Federation from Vladimir Putin, and while Putin moved down the pecking order to become Prime Minister, speculation has abounded from the start of Medvedev’s presidency about an eventual split between Russia’s two highest leaders. The first days of the conflict in Georgia crushed this hypothesis.