It appears the answer to this question depends on the audience. The Harvard historian Prof. Richard Pipes has a letter published in today’s FT pointing out two very different statements made by president-elect Dmitry Medvedev with regard to Russia’s ability to function as a parliamentary republic.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Two statements hard to reconcile in today’s Russia From Prof Richard Pipes Sir, Quentin Peel (“Soviet echoes only with sharper suits,” April 16) quotes Dmitry Medvedev, the recently elected Russian president, to the effect that the new arrangement by virtue of which Vladimir Putin will be both prime minister and head of the United Russia party will “strengthen co-operation between the legislature and the executive. The government will rely on parliamentary support”.