The return of Putin´s puppet as good cop

Russia´s president Medvedev - Putin´s puppet - is now getting a lot of  publicity in Western media for his "brave" words of criticisim against his master:

Medvedev appeared to rebuke Putin for comparing Western calls for action on Libya with the crusades on Monday, in the sharpest public difference yet between the members of Russia's ruling 'tandem' ahead of 2012 elections.
"We are talking about different levels of assessment here," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Slovenia.
"The assessment expressed by the prime minister is nothing other than his personal opinion. The assessment expressed by the head of state (Medvedev) is the only official position of the Russian Federation, which everyone is adhering to," he said.
Putin, widely regarded as the most powerful man in Russia, told workers at a missile factory that a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing use of force against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi "resembles medieval calls for crusades."
Just hours later, Medvedev said the use of such terms was unacceptable and could stir up more violence, his sharpest ever public criticism of Putin.

There is, of course, nothing new in this; Medvedev is back in the role of good cop against the bad cop Putin. But what is absolutely clear, is there has not been any change in the power structure: Putin is the master - and there are absolutely no signs that this reality would change any time soon.

The master speaking:

It is also interesting to note that Medvedev is worried about the use of "indiscriminate force" by the no-fly zone coalition:

(Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev told U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday that Russia was concerned over possible civilian casualties in what he called the "indiscriminate" use of force in Libya, the Kremlin said.
"Medvedev voiced his concern over how the U.N. Security Council resolution on imposing a no-fly zone is being implemented, (and) possible deaths among the civilian population in connection with the indiscriminate use of force by aviation," the Kremlin said.

In this video Medvedev, among other things speaks about "disproportionate" use of force by the coalition forces in Libya:

Medvedev´s choice of words is really over the top. Here we have a representative of a country, which is widely known to have used indiscriminate and disproportionate force against its own people (e.g. in Chechnya) and e.g. against Georgia, lecturing the US and other Western countries. And with regard to human rights in general, Putin´s Russia is among the worst offenders, according to Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations.

Robert Gates, visiting Moscow right now, should let his hosts know what is proper language, and what not. But maybe this is just another "reset" mission with a lot of friendly words?

PS
Addition at 10.25 PM (local time):
Putin as a born-again orthodox:

- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that all those responsible for civilian casualties in Libya should pray for the salvation of their own souls.

Maybe he should start by praying for the salvation of his own soul, as he is personally responsible for the killing of hundreds - if not thousands - of innocent people.