The race to the elections in the US is hogging headlines the world over but it’s time to turn the spotlight on the other former superpower, Russia. It was the election weekend in Russia and as The Economist points out, the outcome was decided before the result was declared. But for the new president and Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, the job ahead is tough. “Putin’s reputation rests on four claims advanced by his supporters. The first is that he brought political stability after the chaos of his predecessor Boris Yelstin. Second, he imposed peace in Chechnya and across the north Caucasus. Third, he restored Russia’s rightful position as a world power. Fourth, he presided over sustained rapid economic growth and a sharp rise in Russians’ living standards. Yet a closer look reveals big flaws in all these claims.”

And it is these flaws that could become stumbling blocks in the way of the rock-loving, English speaking former head of the country’s state-backed energy giant Gazprom. His future may be uncertain but what is certain is that the end of Putin’s presidency won’t necessarily be the end of his hold on Russia. As Time magazine puts it, “Medve-dev may be less the heir to Putin’s throne than its caretaker.”

This week’s New Statesman too turns its sights on Russia, exploring how energy is the key to its new relationship with Europe. Its cover story ‘Gas & gangsters’ follows the expensive and dangerous road that leads out from Russia to central and western Europe, the shadowy passage facilitated by fixers and intermediary.

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