Alexander Rahr Nor am I suggesting that this explicit disagreement between the Russian president and prime minister was an act.
I am certain that both were sincere in what they said. Putin probably did not expect the resolution to be followed so quickly with military action in Libya; hence his overemotional reaction.
But it was Medvedev who made the decision to support the resolution; therefore, he could not keep silent.
If he hadn’t responded, the media would have said the president is shying away from this criticism, rather than confronting it.
So, I would not say that Russia faces a dramatic schism in government, but this difference of opinion is interesting nevertheless.
Russia has two different modernization strategies, one is liberal and the other is rather authoritarian; the…