Politics of Dictatorship and Pluralism

Understanding politics is always difficult, as political systems and behavior change constantly, and because they can be viewed differently by observers. This is all the more true with Russian politics, which has been adrift between democratization and authoritarian inclination. Still President Vladimir Putin’s regime between 2000 and 2007 was, though less democratic, more stable and predictable1 than previous times of uncertainty. Following this period was a tandem regime or duumvirate by Dmitry Medvedev as president and Putin as prime minister. Under this dual leadership system, things became more complicated and attracted wider attention. This tandem system of leadership ended in 2012 officially, and the new regime called PutinII has been evolving from May 2012 onward.