Medvedev falling out of favor with Putin - and falling fast.
Analysts say Medvedev is the target of a campaign to wreck his reputation and drive him from office. It's a risky situation for the former president, who was once regarded as Putin's partner.
The attacks have come from many directions. One of the harshest was an anonymous, documentary-style film that was posted on the Internet in January. The film, Game at Giveaway, accuses Medvedev of betraying Russia's national interest. It refers to the Medvedev's decision as president not to oppose the U.N. resolution that authorized NATO military action in Libya. Why, he asks, did Medvedev take away the gains made by Putin and give them to Russia's main rival, the West? The film calls for Medvedev to be court-martialed.
The root of the problem goes back to 2008, when Putin served two terms as president and was constitutionally blocked from running for re-election. Petrov says that Putin needed someone to occupy the president's chair until he could run again — someone loyal who could never muster the strength to seize power for himself. Though Medvedev was loyal and cautious, Petrov says, he still became a magnet for a budding Russian opposition that was looking for an alternative to Putin.
"I think that Putin miscalculated the fact that although Medvedev was a weak leader, he served as a banner for the camp that was pushing in the direction of political modernization," Petrov says.
http://www.npr.org/2013/04/02/175917448/once-championed-by-putin-medvedev-falls-precipitously-out-of-favor
Don't think I would want to be in Dmitry's shoes for the foreseeable future.
