Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov of Russia unexpectedly resigned and was replaced by a relatively unknown Vitkor Zubkov. The new prime minister goes back in time to St. Petersburg where he worked closely with Putin and most probably taught him many bureaucratic skills. He is also unusual in not having KGB credentials which are common among those surrounding Putin. Yury Korgunyuk kof the Indem think tank postulated: “The only explanation that comes to my mind is that Putin is just postponing the time when he becomes a lame duck and may be watching closely and taking notes of how possible candidates react to his seemingly senseless decisions.”

Putin continues acting according to his KGB training — be mysterious and keep everyone guessing as to one’s true intentions.