Matt Stone at The Global Buzz lists several reasons why an eventual rupture between Vladimir Putin and president-elect Dmitri Medvedev could lead to a genuine shift of power in Moscow:

1. Constitutionally and traditionally, the office of president confers more power to its holder than the office of prime minister. 2. Medvedev commands a lot of respect and loyalty inside Gazprom, the state-owned gas giant for which he has served as chairman. Because Gazprom is a very powerful state entity unto itself – the tail that sometimes wags the dog – Medvedev has a built-in support base to counter the former KBG cadres (the siloviki) that have remained loyal to Putin. 3. Loyalty to power and authority are very Russian qualities, stemming (probably) from a historical legacy of very powerful individual rulers. Insofar as the office of president confers status and power to Medvedev over a Prime Minister Putin, how loyal will the elite remain to Putin over Medvedev?