Opinion - Editorials   

A time of succession

President Vladimir Putin has made his choice of successor to lead Russia after he steps down next year: his trusted ally and close associate of 17 years, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, will run for President in the March 2 election. On Monday the United Russia party formally named him as its candidate. Mr. Putin’s support, and gesture of allowing United Russia to field him as its number one candidate even though he was not a party member, meant a landsl ide in the parliamentary election earlier this month. The very fact that Mr. Medvedev is Mr. Putin’s chosen successor renders the presidential election a one-horse race. The Russian President is at the peak of his popularity as he completes his second four-year term: an incredible 87 per cent of Russians approve of his policies, according to an opinion poll conducted this month.

Mr. Putin is leaving to his successor a resurgent country with a roaring economy, a restored global role, and a stable political system — a solid basis for the further rejuvenation of the Russian Federation. He is handing over the reins of power to the first post-Soviet generation of politicians committed to seeing Russia assert itself in the globalised environment as a more democratic, open, and competitive power. When Mr. Medvedev, 42, completes the virtual formality of getting elected, he will become Russia’s youngest leader in modern history, five years younger than Mr. Putin was when he ascended the Kremlin in 2000. An expert in Roman law, Mr. Medvedev has the reputation of being a progressive liberal with a razor-sharp intellect and an ability to think big. As chairman of the Board of Gazprom over the past seven years, he has overseen the natural gas monopoly’s 50-fold growth in market value to make it the world’s fifth largest company. He has also supervised key federal programmes in the spheres of health, education, housing, food production, and demography aimed at improving the standards of living of millions of Russians. Mr. Medvedev has vowed to continue his mentor’s course, “which has rescued the country from collapse and averted civil war.” He has asked Mr. Putin to be Prime Minister in his future administration. Whether the offer is accepted or not, their teamwork is bound to continue. Mr. Putin has signalled full support to the next President in steering Russia along the path of all-round modernisation. Mr. Medvedev’s rise poses a challenge to New Delhi — how to retain the warmth and intensity of bilateral relations with a new Russian leadership that proclaims the country’s ‘European identity,’ has no sentimental attachment to Soviet-era ‘Indi-Rusi bhai-bhai,’ and must not be taken for granted.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A time of succession
A terrible security lapse
Global warming & India’s responsibility
Persecution of others — today similar to Middle Ages
Is community the most overused word in English?
Corrections and clarifications
Re-look at subsidies
Rural-urban divide
Gujarat polls
Needed, tough laws
Care for the old
Climate change

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu