Who will stand in next year's Russian Presidential election?

[ichkeria]

Putin? Medvedev? Both? Neither?
And who else?

[emmie]

will it make a difference, Putin is always in the frame, his hand seems to be on the tiller, who ever gets in

[ichkeria]

That of course is the other question em10. Russia has elections but it is not a democracy. Everything is tightly managed from the top and only candidates deemed not to be a threat to the ruling elite are allowed to stand, both in presidential and duma elections.
Nonetheless there is plainly a huge discrepancy between Medvedev's view of how to run the country, and Putin's. Additionally they are, for a variety of reasons - mainly bad -the only two politicians who have the remotest chance of election, even were the elections to be held fairly. In an ideal world, they'd put their different views of how to deal with Russia's problems to the Russian people, who would, in a landmark election, decide the future direction of the largest country on the planet.
In the worst of all worlds, Putin returns, having served the time-out the constitution demanded of him, to triumph in a hopelessly lop-sided election featuring himself, the eternal communist Zhuganov, comedy ultra-nationalist Zhirinovsky and probably a 4th joke candidate, just to show Russia is really "democratic" lol. He then does 12 years on the trot, as, while no-one was looking, the parliament voted to extend the presidential term to 6 years.
But, who knows? Maybe not even the main players themselves ...

[Bobbisox]

I think we have enough concerns with our lot ichkeria :o)

[emmie]

Think our politicians are bad, pussycats compared to that lot.

[rov1100]

Medvedev came to power wanting to make friends with the West. He thought by agreeing to the resolution to accept a UN no-fly zone in Libya he could sit comfortably with Obama, Cameron, etc. Unfortunately he now sees the West can't be trusted and have taken the Libyan to extremes and regime change which is not what he thought he voted for. This will be his downfall so expect Putin to make a comeback.

[DTCwordfan]

Maria Sharapova - she would get the grunt vote and plenty of them in Russia.

[modeller]

The Russian people don't want our version of democracy . They want a strong leader who tells them what to do and gets things done quickly.
Many of them still admire Stalin and deplore Gorbachev the man who gave them capitalism.

[ichkeria]

"Think our politicians are bad, pussycats compared to that lot."

Very true. Without wishing to sound too pompous, and while not trying to claim that UK politicians are all starry-eyed angels, politicians in Russia are generally career yesmen who make a tidy, and corrupt, living out of their cosy positions, most being party apparatchiks (United Russia these days not the communist party so much) who aren't so much elected as "rubber-stamped" by the people.

[ichkeria]

"Medvedev came to power wanting to make friends with the West. He thought by agreeing to the resolution to accept a UN no-fly zone in Libya he could sit comfortably with Obama, Cameron, etc. Unfortunately he now sees the West can't be trusted and have taken the Libyan to extremes and regime change which is not what he thought he voted for. This will be his downfall so expect Putin to make a comeback. "

I don't think so. Medvedev "came to power" because Putin let him. He's naturally more lliberal than his predecessor, and certainly more pragmatic. And he talks a good talk at least about Russia's problems.
As far as the Libya situation is concerned - which will count for next to bugger-all in the Russian election I can assure you - Russia probably fully supports the intervention in Libya privately. They just can't bring themselves to say so publicly. Otherwise they'd have vetoed the UN resolution on intervention, as they usually do. You can bet your bottom dollar though that were, miraculously, NATO to abandon the Libyan people to their fate at the hands of Gaddafi, the Russians would be the first to shout about what an evil b*****d Gaddafi is and how dreadful "the west" is to be doing shabby deals with him. A bit like many of the people in this country, I might add.

[ichkeria]

"The Russian people don't want our version of democracy . They want a strong leader who tells them what to do and gets things done quickly.
Many of them still admire Stalin and deplore Gorbachev the man who gave them capitalism. "

The first bit is certainly true. Though the bit about "getting things done quickly" is an illusion. Putin is clever. He sits back (and being "only PM" at the moment he can sit back even more) and waits until some poor sod messes up, then wades in with full publicity and "sorts it out". The buck never stops with him, oh no. But it's all a sham. Russia's real problem is the vast apathetic and fatalistic attitude of so many of its people. Together with a blind patriotism and a cetain about of xenophobia. It's a dream situation for a would-be autocrat with the same mentality. Putin is just another Tsar, really. Like Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible and Lenin.
Gorbachev was very different indeed. He didn't give Russia capitalism, though. He thought he could reform the communist system from within. Crucially though he did believe in the Russian people genuinely taking responsibility for their own lives more. And that is a rarity among Russian leaders.

[modeller]

He does get things done quickly, as does China , compared to us . e.g. Heathrow runway proposal has dragged on for 10 or more years . Moscow would have just gone ahead despite any opposition . China displaced a million people to build the 3 gorges dam.
Gorbachev gave them capitalism when he brought about the collapse of Communism , capitalism is the inevitable result when you set people free.
It's happenened in China . However capitalism is not the same as democracy as we know it. There are also many forms of democracy .

[ichkeria]

"
modeller
Mark as Best Answer
He does get things done quickly, as does China , compared to us . e.g. Heathrow runway proposal has dragged on for 10 or more years . Moscow would have just gone ahead despite any opposition ."

No doubt, and with a few "mysteriously murdered" activists along the way.

" China displaced a million people to build the 3 gorges dam."

I see a pattern developing here.

"Gorbachev gave them capitalism when he brought about the collapse of Communism , capitalism is the inevitable result when you set people free.
It's happenened in China . However capitalism is not the same as democracy as we know it. There are also many forms of democracy . "

Gorbachev just tried to reform communism. He was swept away by Yeltsin who started out as a liberal but became, like most Russian rulers, an autocratic, albeit one who tried to remain "populist".
No one, I think, is claiming that capitalism = freedom. Noone hasd been set free in China, as far as I can see, despite the introduction of a form of capitalism. There are different degrees of freedom and democracy. Neither Russia nor China register particularly highly in those stakes