With the onset of the holiday season, Russians had expected a break from the power play between President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. However, while Medvedev disappeared from television screens at the start of the week, Putin was seen presenting himself as a visionary and athletic figure at a youth camp, while his United Russia party launched an election video.
The two men usually take their holidays at the same time, but this year Putin is thought to have December's parliamentary elections firmly in mind - and Russia's presidential election follows in March. Putin discussed weight problems with his young supporters at a pro-Kremlin camp on Lake Seliger some 400 kilometres north-west of Moscow, and admitted he needed to lose "half a kilo."
The 58-year-old politician then scaled a climbing wall, Spiderman-style without a safety harness or helmet, and demonstrated his strength in an arm wrestling match. The young patriots at the camp listened to Putin's vision for the future, delivered in a speech that has increased speculation that he plans to run in the 2012 presidential election.
Putin pulled no punches in his speech to the youth, criticising the United States for its indebtedness and calling the dominance of the dollar a threat to financial markets. "Countries like Russia and China hold a significant part of their reserves in American securities," he continued. "There should be other reserve currencies."
There was also a strong call for reunification with Belarus, once part of the Soviet Union, and Putin said he was open to the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia becoming part of Russia. For many of those attending the camp, Putin's words sounded like the outline of a future foreign policy, touching on issues that would fall within the remit of the president's office.
However, although a two-minute video posted online by United Russia declared "We are Building a New Russia," Putin did not reveal what political office he aims to hold in the future. The film portrays Putin as a heroic figure making presidential-style visits to schools, factories and hospitals, set against a cinematic soundtrack. In a voice-over, the prime minister promises more money for the country's health service, military and schools and an end to poverty for pensioners.
Medvedev is not mentioned once during this speech about building a modern Russia. Even Russia's more liberal commentators have described Medvedev as "weak and helpless" and believe the return of Putin to Russia's highest office is inevitable. The recent call by Medvedev's advisers Igor Yurgens and Yevgeny Gontmakher for the current president go on the offensive against Putin has so far gone unheeded.
Meanwhile, Putin has emerged as the main figure in a new political movement called the All-Russian People's Front, whose stated aim is to boost the fortunes of the ruling party. That movement and Putin's new Agency for Strategic Initiatives are seen by experts as new power bases for the prime minister. Meanwhile Medvedev is falling further behind, says Vladimir Frolov, president of the LEFF Group, a political and public relations company.
"One of Medvedev's mistakes was not to distance himself from radical proposals from his advisers, particularly from the Institute for Contemporary Development think tank," Frolov wrote in the Moscow Times. Medvedev has adopted a subservient pro-Western foreign policy and dismantled Russia's security services, Frolov said. The analyst advised Medvedev, who became president in 2008 with Putin's seal of approval, to seek another political post through which to put his ideas into practice.
"He should focus on finding the right political role to continue his modernisation agenda in another capacity," Frolov wrote. "This might help him return to the main political stage, perhaps as a contender in the 2018 or 2024 presidential race," he said.