Fareed Zakaria interviewed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about his relationship (or rivalry) with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s ties with the United States, Iran’s nuclear program, politics and the economy. Recently, Medvedev penned a piece arguing that “an inefficient economy, semi-Soviet social sphere, fragile democracy, negative demographic trends, and unstable Caucasus represent very big problems, even for a country such as Russia.”
But despite the critique of Russia’s imperfections, Medvedev still believes Russia is a great power. “In the future, Russia will be an active and respected member of the international community of free nations. It will be strong enough to exert a significant influence on the formulation of decisions that have global implications. It will be able to prevent anyone’s unilateral actions from harming our national interests or adversely affecting our internal affairs, from reducing Russians’ level of income or damaging their security.”
Clip from Fareed Zakaria GPS.
