Table Of ContentThe Russian Presidency of Dmitry
–
Medvedev, 2008 12
The term ‘Tandem’ was used to describe the Putin–Medvedev combination
that ruled Russia from 2008 to 2012, when Medvedev was president and
Putin prime minister. Many people saw Putin as the real wielder of power,
with Medvedev as his puppet. Others, however, saw Medvedev as avisionary,
someone who envisioned large scale schemes – even though these schemes
have not yet come to fruition. At the same time, many in the West regarded
Medvedev favourably, and gave him credit for raising expectations among
both the elite and the middle classes in Russia in such a way as to make it
difficult for the Russian state to return to its old ways. This book presents a
comprehensive surveyof the Medvedev presidency, covering all areas including
politics, the economy, international relations and social developments. The
author concludes that it is still too early to assess Medvedev’s achievements
definitively.
J. L. Black is the Director of the Centre for Research on Canadian–Russian
RelationsatLaurentianUniversityinBarrie,Ontario,andanEmeritusProfessor
of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series
1 LiberalNationalismin Central 8 TheDevelopment ofCapitalism in
Europe Russia
StefanAuer SimonClarke
2 Civil-MilitaryRelations inRussia 9 RussianTelevisionToday
andEasternEurope Primetimedrama andcomedy
DavidJ.Betz DavidMacFadyen
3 TheExtremeNationalistThreat in
10 TheRebuildingofGreater Russia
Russia
Putin'sforeignpolicytowardsthe
ThegrowinginfluenceofWestern
CIScountries
Rightistideas
BertilNygren
ThomasParland
11 ARussianFactoryEntersthe
4 EconomicDevelopment in
MarketEconomy
Tatarstan
ClaudioMorrison
Globalmarketsanda Russian
region
LeoMcCann 12 DemocracyBuildingandCivil
SocietyinPost-SovietArmenia
ArmineIshkanian
5 AdaptingtoRussia'sNewLabour
Market
Genderandemploymentstrategy 13 NATO-RussiaRelationsinthe
EditedbySarahAshwin Twenty-FirstCentury
AurelBraun
6 BuildingDemocracyandCivil
SocietyEastoftheElbe 14 RussianMilitary Reform
EssaysinhonourofEdmund Afailedexerciseindefence
Mokrzycki decisionmaking
EditedbySvenEliaeson CarolinaVendilPallin
7 TheTelengitsof SouthernSiberia 15 TheMultilateral Dimensionin
Landscape,religionandknowledge RussianForeignPolicy
inmotion EditedbyElanaWilsonRoweand
AgnieszkaHalemba StinaTorjesen
16 RussianNationalismandthe 26 ReligionandLanguagein
NationalReassertionofRussia Post-SovietRussia
EditedbyMarlèneLaruelle BrianP. Bennett
17 TheCaucasus–AnIntroduction 27 JewishWomenWriters inthe
FrederikCoene SovietUnion
RinaLapidus
18 RadicalIslamintheFormerSoviet
Union 28 ChineseMigrantsinRussia,
EditedbyGalinaM.Yemelianova CentralAsiaandEastern
Europe
19 Russia'sEuropeanAgenda andthe EditedbyFelixB. Changand
BalticStates SunnieT.Rucker-Chang
JaninaŠleivyte.
29 Poland'sEUAccession
20 RegionalDevelopment inCentral SergiuszTrzeciak
andEasternEurope
Developmentprocessesandpolicy 30 TheRussianArmedForcesin
challenges Transition
EditedbyGrzegorzGorzelak,John Economic,geopolitical and
BachtlerandMaciejSme˛tkowski institutionaluncertainties
EditedbyRogerN.McDermott,
21 RussiaandEurope BertilNygrenandCarolinaVendil
Reachingagreements,digging Pallin
trenches
KjellEngelbrekt andBertil Nygren 31 TheReligiousFactorinRussia's
ForeignPolicy
22 Russia'sSkinheads AlicjaCuranovic´
Exploringandrethinking
subculturallives 32 PostcommunistFilm– Russia,
HilaryPilkington,Elena EasternEuropeandWorldCulture
Omel'chenkoandAl'bina Movingimagesofpostcommunism
Garifzianova EditedbyLarsKristensen
23 TheColour Revolutionsinthe 33 RussianMultinationals
FormerSoviet Republics Fromregionalsupremacytoglobal
Successesandfailures lead
EditedbyDonnachaÓBeacháin AndreiPanibratov
andAbelPolese
34 RussianAnthropologyAfter the
24 RussianMassMediaandChanging CollapseofCommunism
Values EditedbyAlbertBaiburin,
EditedbyArjaRosenholm,Kaarle CatrionaKellyandNikolai
NordenstrengandElenaTrubina Vakhtin
25 TheHeritageof SovietOriental 35 ThePost-Soviet RussianOrthodox
Studies Church
EditedbyMichaelKemper and Politics,cultureandGreaterRussia
StephanConermann KatjaRichters
36 Lenin'sTerror 46 BusinessinPost-Communist
Theideological originsofearly Russia
SovietStateviolence Privatisationandthelimitsof
JamesRyan transformation
MikhailGlazunov
37 LifeinPost-Communist Eastern
EuropeafterEUMembership
47 RuralInequalityinDivided
EditedbyDonnachaÓBeacháin,
Russia
VeraSheridanandSabina StephenK.Wegren
Stan
48 BusinessLeadersandNew
38 EU–BorderSecurity
VarietiesofCapitalism in
Challenges,(mis)perceptions,and
Post-CommunistEurope
responses
EditedbyKatharinaBluhm,
SergheiGolunov
BerndMartensandVera
Trappmann
39 PowerandLegitimacy –
ChallengesfromRussia
EditedbyPer-ArneBodin,Stefan 49 RussianEnergyandSecurity
HedlundandElenaNamli upto2030
EditedbySusanneOxenstierna
40 ManagingEthnicDiversity in andVeli-Pekka Tynkkynen
Russia
EditedbyOlehProtsykand 50 TheInformalPost-Socialist
BenediktHarzl Economy
Embeddedpracticesand
41 BelievinginRussia –Religious livelihoods
PolicyAfter Communism EditedbyJeremyMorrisandAbel
GeraldineFagan Polese
42 TheChangingRussianUniversity
51 RussiaandEastAsia
Fromstate tomarket
Informalandgradualintegration
TatianaMaximova-Mentzoni
EditedbyTsuneoAkahaandAnna
Vassilieva
43 TheTransition toNationalArmies
intheFormerSovietRepublics,
1988–2005 52 TheMaking ofModernGeorgia,
1918–2012
JessePaulLehrke
ThefirstGeorgianRepublicand
itssuccessors
44 TheFalloftheIronCurtainand
EditedbyStephenF.Jones
theCultureof Europe
PeterI.Barta
53 DigitalRussia
45 RussiaAfter2012 Thelanguage,cultureand
FromPutin toMedvedev to politicsofnewmedia
Putin–continuity,change,or communication
revolution? EditedbyMichaelS.Gorham,
EditedbyJ.L.BlackandMichael IngunnLundeandMartin
Johns Paulsen
54 EasternChristianityandPoliticsin 56 ChechnyaatWarandBeyond
theTwenty-First Century EditedbyAnneLeHuérou,Aude
EditedbyLucianN.Leustean Merlin,AmandineRegameyand
ElisabethSieca-Kozlowski
55 PunkinRussia 57 TheRussianPresidencyofDmitry
Culturalmutationfromthe Medvedev,2008–12
‘useless’tothe‘moronic’ Thenextstep forwardor merelya
IvanGololobov,Hilary Pilkington timeout?
andYngvarB. Steinholt J.L.Black
‘Larry Black’s excellent book convincingly demonstrates that Dmitry
Medvedev was much more than Vladimir Putin’s alter ego, contrary to what
was often said in the Western press. It unquestionably helps us to understand
why the announcement of his departure in favour of Putin’s return to the
presidency in the fall of 2011 led to the largest mass demonstrations in
Moscow and St. Petersburg since the end of the USSR. Larry Black shows
how andwhy many significant moves introduced by Medvedev, to modernize
the economy, to reinforce the rule of law and cope with endemic corruption,
did generate high hopes in Russia’s new urban middle class for much needed
changes. Even if the strong relationship based on personal trust and loyalty
betweenthetwoleadersallowedforMedvedev’sreplacement aspresidentand
the partial reversal of many of his initiatives, Black is convinced many of
these are bound to revive, one wayor the other.’
Jacques Lévesque, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
‘ThisinformativeandlucidstudyofRussiabetween2008and2012detailsthe
challenges that confronted the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev in his efforts
to modernize the economic, political, and social life of that vast territory.
Larry Black offers much in this account of the four-year Tandem, providing
insights not only into domestic developments but also into Russia’s relations
with neighbouring countries and the West.’
Serge Cipko, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, Canada
‘As the Medvedev presidency is receding into history, it continues to puzzle
observers of Russian affairs. By providing the first comprehensive account of
that period, Larry Black helps us understand the logic of Russia’s continuing
political evolution, shaped by a complex and ever-changing arrayof domestic
and international factors.’
Sergei Plekhanov, York University, Canada
‘This is a benchmark assessment of an important transition period in the
political, economic and social history of modern Russia. It is highly com-
mended to scholars and students, as it offers unique apolitical insight into the
nature of high politics in Russia, 2008–12. This is an indispensable asset to
any serious student of Russia’s modern progress to finding its place in the
world.’
Roger McDermott, Affiliated Senior Analyst,
Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen
The Russian Presidency of
–
Dmitry Medvedev, 2008 12
The next step forward or merely a
time out?
J. L. Black
RO Routledge
U
TLED Taylor & Francis Group
G
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Firstpublished2015
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2015J.L.Black
TherightofJ.L.Blacktobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbyhiminaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,
DesignsandPatentAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin
anyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwriting
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Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksor
registeredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanation
withoutintenttoinfringe.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Black,J.L.(JosephLaurence),1937-
TheRussianpresidencyofDmitryMedvedev,2008-2012:thenextstep
forwardormerelyatimeout?/J.L.Black.
pagescm.--(RoutledgecontemporaryRussiaandEasternEuropeseries;57)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1.Medvedev,D.A.(DmitriiAnatol’evich)2.Presidents--Russia
(Federation)--Biography.3.Politicians--Russia(Federation)--Biography.
4.Russia(Federation)--Politicsandgovernment--1991-5.Russia
(Federation)--Foreignrelations.6.Russia(Federation)--Economic
conditions--1991-I.Title.
DK510.766.M43B532014
947.08603--dc23
2014006350
ISBN:978-1-138-78191-7(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-76947-9(ebk)
TypesetinTimesNewRoman
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
Contents
List of illustrations xi
Preface xii
Acknowledgements xvii
Transliteration and sources xviii
Abbreviations and key terms xix
Introduction 1
Who was Dmitry Medvedev in 2008? 5
1 The Tandem 11
The presidency and its power base 12
The agenda 15
The Tandem in action 15
The Tandem – frayed 24
Presidential ambitions 26
A momentous decision 29
Presidential election campaign, 2012 32
The aftermath 35
2 The Russian Federation: source of strength and
weakness 42
The North Caucasus quicksand 50
3 The political cockpit 62
The legislature 65
Voices outside the legislature 69
The government 72
Preparing for the State Duma election 74
The election campaign 78
The aftermath 79
