Medvedev warns of civil war for Russia

Published on Friday 13 May 2011 16:14

President Dmitry Medvedev has said Russia could face civil war or stagnation if too much power was concentrated in the hands of one man, an apparent jibe at the prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

Mr Putin is widely viewed as Russia's most powerful man, three years after steering Mr Medvedev into the Kremlin to replace him as president. Long firm allies, the two have exchanged barbs in public over recent months, fuelling speculation of a rift ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

Both have repeatedly avoided saying which of them will run in the March 2012 presidential vote, though Mr Medvedev, 45, has positioned himself as an alternative to the 58-year-old former KGB spy.

In a question and answer session with young MPs, Mr Medvedev said Russia could be torn apart if it allowed the political system to be dominated by one individual. He did not mention Mr Putin by name.

"An excessive concentration of power is indeed a dangerous thing: it has happened in this country many times and as a rule it has either led to stagnation or civil war. We must not allow that," Mr Medvedev said when asked about parliamentary democracy.

"Attempts to build up power to fit a certain individual are dangerous. If they do not cause trouble today, you must not doubt that they will cause great problems for the country and for the individual in the not-too-distant future," he said.

"We must think about this and remember the lessons of history," he said.

Mr Medvedev's apparent criticism of his mentor is likely to fuel talk of a divide between the two, who have worked together closely for more than two decades and who used to say they agreed on almost every issue.

That all appeared to change earlier this year, when Mr Medvedev slapped down Mr Putin for criticising western military intervention in Libya and then ordered Putin allies to leave the boards of state companies such as Rosneft.

Mr Medvedev has promoted himself as a candidate of change who can offer hope of reform for the economy.