“While President [Dmitri] Medvedev (left) talks the talk, he has wasted a unique opportunity to contribute to Russia’s democratization,” according to Ariel Cohen, a veteran Russia watcher:
This may be because he cannot change the status quo, or because he is committed to playing the role assigned to him when he was appointed as Vladimir Putin’s successor in 2008. In either case, Putin’s return in 2012 is likely to disabuse those in the Obama administration who harbored high hopes for a “reset” of U.S.-Russia relations with Medvedev. Even in the unlikely event that Medvedev continues as president, his role in Russia’s democratization appears to be limited in extremis.
