What does the "Medvedev-Putin tandem" mean? Who of them is the boss? In general, what do you think about these two people?" We have asked students in grades nine to eleven at a Moscow school these questions.
The respondents are aware of the Medvedev-Putin tandem, although many admit that they are not particularly interested in politics. Their main source of information is television, as is the case for most of the country's citizens. There is also the Internet of course, though not to the same extent, the Web is more for school work or relaxation, and politics belongs in neither category. Television is something you can never get away from. You learn things in spite of yourself. However, the conclusions are for you to draw. Judging from their replies, students do exactly that outside of school. That is why their opinions about the Medvedev-Putin tandem are their own, and are often different from what they hear on television.
Who is more powerful?
"You often hear about the Medvedev-Putin tandem on television," writes Dima B., a student in the ninth grade. "In my opinion, the term refers to the cooperation of the two heads of state. I imagine that it has been created for the country's good." His opinion is echoed by Oksana P., a student in the tenth grade: "The term ‘tandem' means that the country is ruled not by one President but by two, though unofficially".
"I understand that term to mean an alliance of these two people for shared political responsibility and for running the country," writes Glafira N., a student in the tenth grade.
Most respondents share the view that the members of the tandem are equally powerful. However, there are some exceptions.
"I think that Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin must consult each other when making important decisions," thinks Daniil A., a student in the tenth grade. "That's what the word ‘tandem' means."
"Mr Putin," he continues, "already has a feeling for and understanding of power and responsibility, [while] Mr Medvedev is only beginning to understand it. Mr Putin also has the experience of two presidential terms, and of course he shares that experience with Mr Medvedev."
"Of course," Daniil writes, "it seems as if Mr Putin guides Mr Medvedev's actions, and often makes important decisions himself, but that is just my personal view of what is happening at the top."
The boy is wrong in saying that this is just his "personal point of view". Many suspect that the Prime Minister is the dominant figure in the tandem. "The tandem is a mutually beneficial collaboration between two influential statesmen," writes Svetlana B., a ninth-grader, "in which Vladimir Putin obviously is predominant".
Alexander R., a tenth-grader, writes that "I think that as the successor to Mr Putin's programme, Mr Medvedev always makes decisions under Mr Putin's supervision, as it were, the programme is designed to be implemented over several years, and I don't think that Mr Medvedev can change anything". In his opinion, "because Mr Putin could not run for a third term, he had to choose a successor, but the real leader of the country is still Putin. Mr Medvedev, being only a successor, is a puppet under the control of the real ruler."
Konstantin S., an eleventh-grader, is just as emphatic about the distribution of power within the tandem. "Within the tandem, Mr Medvedev's political authority is less, because what he does as President depends heavily on Mr Putin's decisions, while Mr Putin's authority is greater, because in reality he has more opportunities and authority than the Prime Minister's position implies," Konstantin writes.
Stanislav M., an eleventh-grader, believes that "when they speak about the Putin-Medvedev tandem, I think there is some political trick, some kind of game behind it."
A cross between Boris Godunov and Nicholas II
"What do you think of President Medvedev? What sort of person is he, what are his goals, does he like being the President of Russia?"
Surprisingly, the answers to these questions were very knowledgeable.
"Mr Medvedev is the youngest President of Russia in all of its history, writes Dmitry B. (9th grade). "Personally, I trust him: the current President is trying to do as much as he can for Russia." Dmitry then adds that, "I would compare his actions to those of Boris Godunov. When he ascended the throne, he tried to lead the country out of a crisis and make people's lives better after Ivan the Terrible's brutal policies". Lest anyone misinterpret the past, the politically correct Dima specifies that, "I see President Yeltsin as Ivan the Terrible."
"I approve of Medvedev's policy, and I have deep sympathy for him. In my opinion, he is just the person to lead the country out of the crisis."
After all, he "has thought up the political programme for the country's development 11 years ahead, until 2020."
"He comes from a family of intellectuals, has a good education, and he is decisive and he cherishes family values," writes Svetlana B. (9th grade).
"It is hard to say what kind of person he is based only from the information from the media," her classmate, Polina B. elaborates, "but if one judges him on the basis of this information, he comes across as a responsible, sociable, serious and purposeful man. He does not avoid difficulty and he is not afraid of it."
"As far as Mr Medvedev's character, I think he is balanced, reasonable and kind," thinks Ksenia N., a tenth-grader. "Work is very important for him. Perhaps it is his life's purpose, perhaps it is the goal that he set for himself and has managed to achieve. But today I think the new President's main task is to demonstrate to society that he deserves to be the ruler of such a country. In general, Mr Medvedev has not been President long enough. For me personally, this is not enough time to understand what kind of policies he is pursuing. I can only say that right now, he inspires a certain degree of trust".
"He is like Nicholas II; he's interested in his family. He has honest eyes and he is very clever," writes Sofia N. "He is kind and simple," adds her classmate, Anastasia A.
"No charisma as of yet...
"I think he is a good person, he looks kind, only he is not a tall guy, but he has a good head, he is intelligent and shrewd," wrote Daniil A. "Of course it is hard to judge him without meeting him in an informal setting, but I have a feeling that he can establish a rapport with any person because he is versatile." Daniil continues, "He is not bad as a politician and definitely interesting as a person. I personally have respect for him. He thinks about his country, cares about its people, and tries not to make mistakes".
As for his attitude to his job, Daniil writes that, "I think he enjoys being President. In addition to a lot of money (according to his income declaration for 2008 President Medvedev earned 4,139,726 roubles - Profil), it is great to be known that millions of people are behind you, and that the destiny of the whole state is in your hands."
"He looks educated, and I think he is. He speaks convincingly, weighing his words, and he uses pauses very skilfully. He is even-tempered and confident, and firm in his decisions," writes Glafira L. "His aim is to govern the country reasonably and to look after its prosperity and the well-being of its citizens. I like his confident and convincing manner of speaking, as for his job he is aware of his responsibility, and makes reasonable and important decisions."
Mr Medvedev, according to Natalya S. (grade 11), "is calm and approaches his job responsibly. He is trying to tear the country away from the influence of the West and America, and is lifting the economy out of its deep crisis." His only shortcoming for now is that "the injection of money into banks began before he tackled corruption."
Natalya's classmate, Alexei M, states that "He is intelligent and has all the qualities a president needs, but so far he has not distinguished himself as a speaker, and he has no charisma."
Who is Mr Medvedev?
However, predictably, many of the students were genuine sceptics, withholding judgment about the merits of the new President, especially since they rely exclusively on information from the media. "It is ridiculous to judge Mr Medvedev on the basis of how he is depicted in the media," writes eleventh-grader Andrei B. "The only source of information about political events for me is television news. I am not sure that it can be fully trusted", acknowledges tenth-grader Yelizaveta L.
"I can't say anything about his personality. What we see on television is an image that is a copy of Mr Putin," believes Alexander R.. "I can assume that he is an honest and decent man, but again, I only see the image. So I have no particular feelings with regard to Mr Medvedev, but I like many of the things he has done."
There are, however, other opinions. "Not one of his reforms has made a positive difference to me," writes ninth-grader Maria D. "I think the news today tries to report only successes and triumphs, whereas in reality not everything is so great."
Yelena M., a tenth-grader, laments that there are "lots of pretty words and big promises, but a lack of action and attempts to solve problems. Last year Mr Medvedev was saying on television that the world crisis would not affect Russia, and that we would be one of the last countries to feel it. What do we have now? Massive layoffs, pay cuts and rising prices."
"I think he is inclined to follow others' opinion, and easily changes his own," Oksana P. wrote about the President. "I think he is totally dependent on Mr Putin's opinion."
Galina K. disagrees, writing that "many believe that Mr Medvedev has been totally dependent on Mr Putin from the start, and has pursued his policies under Mr Putin's guidance." She adds that, "Today, one can say confidently, considering all the decisions he has made that do not depend on Mr Putin's policies, that that assertion was false."
"Mr Medvedev lacks charisma and authority both inside and outside the country, but it is obvious that he will pursue democratic methods and goals in politics," Konstanin S. believes. "He will not conduct dramatic reforms, and one cannot expect startling decisions from him. He is colourless and has no individuality. His image does not inspire confidence". Konstantin notes that "Mr Putin is not like that. He is confident and inspires confidence. He has clear priorities and goals. He is the face of Russia."
Putin and us
Although opinions about Medvedev vary greatly, there is considerable consensus about his predecessor. Putin is rated as good or very good.
"Intelligent, serious, a skilful diplomat, shrewd. I think there are many reasons to respect him," wrote Maria D. "He has managed to lead the country to a higher level after Yeltsin, to improve people's lives, though not as much as they would have liked."
"Mr Putin is a responsible and wise politician, and a tough task master," writes Polina B. "He still has influence on the course of events: a person like him does not necessarily have to be President to play an important role in the life of the country."
"I think Mr Putin is not an evil man. I don't know what makes me think so, but I feel this in my gut. I believe this is his most important feature as a person," writes Pavel N., a tenth-grader.
"He is nice, good, purposeful, and ‘cool': an athlete, intelligent and handsome," Alina R. writes admiringly. "He is a capable man. The crisis is a problem for him of course, but he will solve it quickly. Putin succeeds in everything he does."
"Mr Putin is a fairly strong personality, self-confident, an ideal candidate for governing the state, I sympathise with him," Oksana P. admits. "He was a colourful individual during his term. Not in the same sense as Yeltsin, who got drunk on a plane and could not come out to meet a head of state, but from in a good way."
"I have read that he is a good family man, very humane and kind. He likes meeting with people, travels around the country a lot, enjoys sports, and in general tries to be active and not to deny himself the things he could enjoy as an ordinary man," Alexander R. writes as if beginning an intrigue. "But," he writes, "one should not forget that Putin is mainly the creation of his publicity managers, and we won't know what he is really like unless we meet him personally."
"I like his sense of humour and his skilful and witty comebacks," writes eleventh-grader Anna V. "Putin is strong-willed, but tired," adds her classmate, Sofia N. "Putin is more resolute than Medvedev," writes Natalya S. confidently. Glafira L. disagrees, writing, "I think he is less resolute than Medvedev," I sympathise with Mr Putin, but not as much as with Mr Medvedev. He speaks less convincingly and he is less resolute."
Many students have no doubts about Prime Minister Putin's political future. "He has already established himself as a colourful personality. All Russians sympathise with him. Putin is the former, and I hope future President of Russia," wrote Alexei M. "I think that Putin will be the next President after Medvedev," agrees his classmate Nina K..
By Vladimir Rudakov