“The President is the symbol of power, and the Prime Minister is only a manager.”
Kommersant has an interview with Elena Shestopal, the deputy chair of the Political Psychology Department at MGU, on how Russian society views the inevitable election of Dmitri Medvedev. I think the title of the interview, “Thus far Medvedev’s character remains unclear in the consciousness of the masses” says it all. Here is an excerpt.
Almost 3/4 of Russians are prepared to vote for Dmitri Medvedev. Do the people trust the authorities so strongly?
They trust Vladimir Putin personally. Around his person we are seeing the complete consolidation of society in Post-Soviet times. Thus far Medvedev’s character remains unclear in the consciousness of the masses. When we ask people who they will vote for, we hear Medvedev’s name on rare occasions. Usually they answer: “It’s clear for who. Why do you ask?” or “What is to become of us?” Such answers signify the fatality ..read more
