It seems there’s a bit of a struggle behind the scenes in the Kremlin, as Medvedev seems to be signalling that he wants to actually be in charge in his own job. Putin will have to keep an eye on him, which will probably be a good thing for everyone else, as the two factions spar behind the policy. While both of them seem to belong to the same highly nationalist mindset, Medvedev (without Putin’s KGB background) seems to be the one with more palatable methods. I wondered about this during the Georgian crisis, when Medvedev seemed to be trying to end the war, and seemed rather irked by the fact that he was having trouble getting the country to go the way he said. While that would be good evidence that he’s the more moderate one of the two, it would also seem to indicate that Putin has a stronger grasp on the reins.
Of course, this could also all be posturing to mislead western observers into thinking a rift exists when one really doesn’t.