The most notable event on Russia’s political landscape is the fact that the defense minister Sergey Ivanov has been promoted to the position of the first vice president. This appointment did not come as a surprise to many, as Mr. Ivanov is seen as one of the two likeliest candidates for the next presidency. As of right now both main contenders for the position - Dmitriy Medvedev and Sergey Ivanov - are serving “first vice-presidents”.

At the moment it appears as if Putin himself is not sure which one of the two should inherit the power. If both candidates will run for the presidency in 2008, Putin can free himself from the responsibility to pick between his close associates, and let the people of Russia decide instead. Thus, there is a prospect of Russia having an almost democratic election in terms of equal access of the candidates to the administrative resources. The only problem with such “sovereign democratic” approach lies in the fact that both competing individuals are appointed by and therefore are answerable to the same person. However, most of the representatives of the Russian liberal media do not believe even in such remote possibility of anything being left to chance, as it would be in case of a real election. Instead, they expect that Mr. Putin makes up his mind and conveys his position to the general public shortly prior to the electoral campaigns.

The new appointment of Sergey Ivanov can only be seen in connection with the “successor” project. Expectedly, Putin has equalized the positions of his two main candidates. Polls show that public support for the two 1st vice presidents Medvedev and Ivanov is about even. The power struggle is far from being over, the Moscow Observer will keep commenting on further development of the situation.