The Moscow Times: Ruling tandem makes Russia more democratic
I have argued on these pages that the tandem’s creative ambiguity as to which one of them will run for president in 2012 is now turning into a source of political instability in Russia. Yet looking back on 2010, the tandem’s purposeful uncertainty could actually be good for the country’s democracy, despite the destructive potential of the clannish rivalry. Vladimir Putin’s decision in 2007 not to change the Constitution to allow himself a third presidential term and his subsequent repositioning as the most powerful prime minister in modern Russian history with all the constitutional powers of a popularly elected president is perhaps the most under-recognized and undervalued contribution to the development of the country’s democracy. Read the story here.