Medvedev ruling a continuation of Putin

In contrast to the American Presidential transition of power, Kathryn Stoner-Weiss argued that the transition of power from Russian President Putin to President Medvedev is not bringing any change at all. Weiss, associate director of research and senior research scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University and former Title VIII supported scholar at the Kennan Institute, made this argument at a discussion on “Medvedev’s Challenges in Governing Putin’s Russia: What a New American President Should Know.”

With the current global economic crisis and Russia’s growing interest in economic development over security, Weiss advises President-Elect Obama to engage with Russian civil society and improve relations with Russia and their European allies.

Weiss said President Medvedev has always been working under Putin, and that Putin is clearly still running the country. Russia is currently proposing to extend the term of president from four years to six years for the next elected president, which Weiss believes opens the door for Putin to come back into office. Weiss argued that the causes of economic growth under Vladimir Putin were independent from the regime change after President Yeltsin, and that the corruption and drawback of freedoms actually worsened under Putin. Transparency International dropped Russia’s ranking by 26 places from last year, tying Russia with Syria and Kenya.

Weiss also believes Putin did not necessarily represent a democracy because he had high approval ratings. She said his high approval was the result of people conflating a leader with an era, and because Putin put restrictions and regulations on the media.