G8 and Russian Foreign Policy: Overcoming Shortcomings

Dmitri Medvedev’s appearance at the G8 Summit in Hokkaido will be his first step on the wide international stage that Vladimir Putin occupied with such a swagger. Expectations of change will be high, but they are likely to be unrealistic at such an early stage in Medvedev’s presidency. Putin’s foreign policy legacy is a heavy one and he has made it clear that Medvedev will be no soft touch, but will his approach ultimately be more productive?