Alexei Bayer attempts to tell the fortunes of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, voicing his surprise at the former puppet President’s longevity in the government.  Bayer attempts to figure out which aspects of Medvedev’s potential usefulness are able to outweigh his less inspiring roles as, for example, ‘constant reminder to Putin of his failure to create a viable successor’ or general ‘nonentity’.  The most likely outcome for Medvedev, says Bayer, is to be used as a scapegoat in some form.