Honeymoon Can't Last for Russia's Power Couple

It may look like Vladimir Putin has kept Russia stable by sliding into the PM's chair; optimists even predict he'll share power politely with President Medvedev. But these lovebirds are actually destined to fight, writes Ivan Krastev in the Wall Street Journal: Eventually Medvedev will want to exercise power, and not as Putin’s “mini-me.”

Putin's move has ensured continuity, not stability. He’s built a divided Kremlin and driven unsustainable economic growth. He also needs the West for development while he portrays it as a hostile boogeyman. Meanwhile Russians have grown steadily anti-Western, and “the change of personalities in the Kremlin is unlikely to change this consensus.” (More Russia stories.)