This is not good news. Putin wants to take Russia back to the soviet style communism.
From FT.COM:
Russia’s prime minister Vladimir Putin will return to his post as president next year after he and president Dmitry Medvedev announced they were switching jobs.
The announcement was made on Saturday at the annual conference of United Russia, the hegemonic party that controls two-thirds of Russia’s parliament. It put to rest intrigue over Mr Putin’s next move.
The announcement confirms the long-held impression that Mr Medvedev was only ever a place holder for Mr Putin, who was constitutionally prohibited from a third term after serving as president from 2000-2008.
Mr Putin is now likely to win two consecutive 6 year terms, giving him a total of a quarter century in power from the time he took over the Kremlin in 2000. He remains Russia’s strongest political figure despite stepping aside for four years.
There are some on the partisan right, that would blame Obama for something like this; but I not. The truth is, Putin has wanted to put Russia back into the old Soviet style of communism since the Soviet Union fell. He was in the KGB and was and most likely still is a hardliner.
Can there be a reset of relations? Not with Obama. He is too weak. The next President will have to do that. Hopefully, the Republicans choose wisely.