In Russian Leadership Battle, Medvedev Hints He Lacks Fire

By ELLEN BARRY
NYT

YAROSLAVL, Russia — When President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia took the lectern here at his annual political forum last week, the circles under his eyes suggested he had barely slept.

The audience was waiting to find out who would be ruling Russia next spring, Mr. Medvedev or Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin — a question that has gripped this country for months. Meanwhile, a plane crash had killed this city’s elite hockey team, sending thousands of people, weeping, into the streets.

What would Mr. Medvedev do? Put aside his prepared remarks and speak about the tragedy? Address the year’s devastating series of transport disasters?

His choice mattered. As the more liberal partner of Russia’s ruling tandem, Mr. Medvedev still has power to guide Russia between authoritarianism and reform, though it is ebbing. When the moment came, Mr. Medvedev decided to go ahead with his script, a 30-minute discourse on the state’s approach to diversity.

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