Posted on 12/04/2010 3:15:06 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
WikiLeaks cables: Dmitry Medvedev 'plays Robin to Putin's Batman'
US diplomats consider Vladimir Putin to be the real ruler of Russia despite handing over presidency to Dmitry Medvedev
Vladimir Putin still pulls the strings in Russia, with President Dmitry Medvedev a more junior figure who "plays Robin to Putin's Batman", US diplomats have said in frank dispatches from Moscow released by WikiLeaks.
Since Putin stepped down as president in 2008, political analysts have been scrambling to assess whether he – or his handpicked successor, Medvedev – is Russia's real leader. After leaving the Kremlin, Putin immediately became prime minister.
Secret diplomatic cables seen by the Guardian reveal the US emphatically believes Putin to be in charge. They also suggest Putin will decide whether Medvedev serves a second term, whether he will return to the presidency himself or give the job to someone else. In a dispatch sent in February 2010, the US ambassador in Moscow, John Beyrle, dubbed the pairing "Russia's bicephalous ruling format". He made clear that he saw Putin as the more important of the two heads.
"Medvedev and Putin work well together, but Putin holds most, and the best, of the cards in the tandem relationship. His return to the Kremlin is not inevitable, but should things remain stable, Putin remains in a position to choose himself, Medvedev, or another person as Russia's next president."
In a separate cable the Azeri president, Ilham Aliyev, is recorded telling a top US official that he personally witnessed Medvedev taking decisions that then required further approval. Some were stymied at that stage, presumably in the prime minister's office.
"Many high-ranking officials don't recognise [Medvedev] as a leader ... There are signs of a strong confrontation between the teams of the two men, although not yet between Putin and Medvedev personally.'"
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Isn’t Medvedev protected by our “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy?
Was this really a secret?
Batman has a drinking problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0xollWZ9Bo
There's no time to lose. To the strip club, Robin!
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