From Russia to Russia with love

There was a Financial Times interview with Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev published March 24. The interview is interesting and enlightening in many ways, as the president-elect sets forth a couple of key policy goals for the next few years. However, what I found most revealing was the extent of Dmitry Medvedev’s man-crush on Vladimir Putin. The interviewer asks a couple of questions about working with Putin, and Medvedev’s answers are downright fawning. Example:

FT: Let’s talk about foreign affairs. Is Mr Putin right that the west, the world, will find you, in his words, no easier to deal with?

DM: Of course he’s right. You asked whether he is right or not and he’s right.

FT: He’s right on most things?

DM: Of course. He is an experienced and effective leader of the country.

(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f40629a8-f9ba-11dc-9b7c-000077b07658.html)

Then he added, “And I love him with the burning passion of a thousand suns!” There are other parts of the interview, too, where Medvedev heaps praise on his boss. While the interview left unclear the exact roles that will be played by each man in the coming administration, it made quite clear DM *hearts* VP, and I don’t think I have to spell out for you what to expect if they were ever found in a tree together.