Will Medvedev Challenge Putin in 2012?

Will Medvedev Challenge Putin in 2012?

Russia Profile Weekly Experts Panel: Will Medvedev Challenge Putin in 2012?
Local Russian News In English

With presidential elections in Russia less than two years away, opinion polls show that President Dmitry Medvedev is rapidly catching up with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in popularity. Recent polls show a virtual dead heat between them. So could Medvedev think the unthinkable and challenge his mentor at the ballot box in 2012? Will Medvedev have the political resources, the support base and, most importantly, the guts to challenge the man who brought him to the pinnacle of Russian power? How would such a challenge play out in Russia?s clannish politics? How would the Russian elites react to the need to make a political choice that could be fatal?
Source: Russia Profile.org