Publication

The incumbent Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, will formally transfer presidential powers to his successor in May. Yet the author argues that, in reality, his presidency is already over. The end of his tenure was marked by growing domestic and international scepticism about his personal leadership. In this article, however, the analyst abstains from the emotionally politicised assessments of his four years in office, and focus instead on those changes that have occurred in the foreign policy domain since 2008. And one of the pivotal criteria for judging the success or failure of Medvedev’s diplomacy is the progress made by Russia in its integration into international society.