TT Crisis in the Caucasus: How much power does Dmitri Medvedev really have? - je 15.08.2008 10

As western leaders including German chancellor Angela Merkel attempt to mediate in the conflict between Georgia and Russia, they find themselves talking to a man who is relatively new on Russia's political scene. President Dimitri Medveydev has been in office now for just 100 days. When he took over from Putin, the West believed Medveydev would take a more moderate approach to foreign affairs. But events in Georgia are making many in the West reassess their opinion.