Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin may have sidelined his strategist as an initial reaction to the outburst of protests challenging his win in the recent parliamentary elections, but it would behove him to appease the increasing dissatisfaction amongst the Russian people.
Putin has ruled out a review of the elections, since parliament has started functioning, a speaker elected and with the state Duma working, but his actions hereafter will be studied critically, questions will be asked and answers will be sought.
The prime minister must be seen to be fair and by this it means that he must exhibit good governance. Essentially Russia's democracy should not be ‘managed' and random prison terms for those who dare to speak out against the flaws that are being exposed cannot be the response.
The story will not end with a mere waving of the hand. The focus now shifts to the presidential elections on March 4 and Dmitry Medvedev will be under the scanner. By promising transparent polls Putin has done the right thing. The Russian people will have by now also realised that they do not have a viable candidate to stand against him. This gives Russia's strongman time to defuse a potentially stressful situation.
