by Anna Barkhudarova

Created on: May 19, 2008

Double-headed Eagle

In Byzantine the heads of the double headed Eagle represented the dual sovereignty of the Emperor secular and religious. The double headed eagle on Russian Coats of Arms seems to represent a new power phenomenon - two commanders of the country. One of who is a newly elected Dmitry Medvedev; the other is the ex-president and a newly appointed prime minister Vladimir Putin. The rise of Medvedev to power was not surprising as Putin announced him as his successor in December 2007 prior to the elections. What still is in question whether Medvedev would be able to break away from his mentor and become friendlier if not to the West then to at least its own people. It is very doubtful however that he will be able to step away from the shade of Putin any time soon. As Maria Lipman from the Carnegie Moscow Center said "Mr. Medvedev knows for sure that he owns his elections, his popularity, [] his presidency to one man and that man is [] Putin". Medvedev has gone out of his way to show the world that he supports the policies implemented by his mentor and he would continue to lead Russia along the same political lines. The events that took place right after the elections offer more proof. One of them being a reduction of gas supply to Ukraine by GAZPROM, the Russian gas company which Medvedev chaired since 2000. Another one is the violent suppression of a protest in Moscow and arrest of a liberal politician Maksim Reznik who did not present any serious threat.

Even if he has liberal instincts, he has no independent power and is certainly more of a team player. This of course means that he will only be as liberal as only Putin wishes, at least for now. History has shown that the Kremlin walls have been able to change its residents and it is possible that Medvedev would want to break away, seeking more power. It is also not clear how strong Putin's system is and how long he will be able to retain that power being now outside of the presidential seat. But for the time being the show must go on and we shall see Russia to be governed by two men, like the double headed eagle on the Coat of Arms hoping that the Eagles Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev - will be looking out for the best interests of the Russian people whether it will be aligning Russia with the East or continuing more profitable oil and gas relationships with the West. Whichever direction that will be, it seems unlikely that it will be a path on the way to the democracy.

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