Video:The BBC's Andrew Marr interviews the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ahead of the G20 summit in London-29/3/09

Only one in eight Russians may believe he is in charge but President Dmitry Medvedev presides over a nuclear arsenal and one of the biggest reserves of natural fuel in the world, and he is increasingly media-savvy as the BBC's Andrew Marr found out.

The crunch of snow underfoot, a brisk cold wind blowing through the birch forests and, at last, a single black official car sweeping up the drive.

President Dmitry Medvedev is reckoned by most Russians polled to be much less important than his mentor Vladimir Putin - the former president and currently prime minister.

But when he arrives, he feels important - the leather-jacketed security men snapping into activity. At this official dacha outside Moscow, the mood is suddenly urgent.

It is a curious situation. I am greeting him at his own official residence, a gothic Germanic castle dating from the 1880s.


Russia says it is working on plans as well for a new European security treaty
Once, the Czar came here.

Now it is in the middle of an area colonised by super-rich Russians - the road junction has a "Luxury Village" sign and adverts on the road here are all for Rolex, Gucci and condos in the US.

But here, Barvikha, is where President Medvedev receives foreign visitors. He has not done extended interviews like this before - we are very privileged.

He bounds out, smiling, and thrusts a buff coloured folder at me. My FSB file?

No - phew! - just the Wikipedia file on another Marr, this one a philologist from the Stalin era, who tried to apply the principles of class struggle to the development of language..........Continue at BBC

John McCain Statesmanlike Suspends Campaign to help with the Bailout Negotiations (action of a true patriot)

John McCain in a statesmanlike move characteristic of the man has announced that he will suspend his presidential campaign on Thursday to return to Washington to help with bailout negotiations. He has also urged his opponent Barack Obama to do the same. It had become increasingly obvious that there was a groundswell of opposition in Congress to the bailout proposals. This opposition ranged across the political spectrum from left to right. Even moderates have extreme difficulty with the proposal.

Mr McCain also asked the Presidential Debate Commission to postpone Friday’s scheduled debate with Obama so that he could work on the financial crisis bailout plan now on Capitol Hill.

“America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, ever corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen,” McCain said.

The McCain approach is patriotic and visionary- the mark of a true leader. He has sacrificed his foreign policy advantage in the debate on Friday night. John McCain as a true patriot has put his country before his political interests. Obama must now follow his lead.