A fifth of Russians voted for communists

In the presidential elections, communist party leader, a vicious anti-Semite Zyuganov received at least 18% of the vote.
Putin’s protege Medvedev predictably won. The fact that Putin relinquished control over the Russian empire and placed himself into a subordinate position (prime minister) to generally tough Medvedev once again proves that Russia is run by a force which commands both Putin and Medvedev. If he were independent, Putin would have certainly changed the constitution to allow himself the third presidential term or to shift the state power to prime minister before becoming one. Apparently, Putin was told to play it nice and step down from the presidential office.
Who is that force, we can guess easily. Putin exercises unimpeded control over both FSB and oligarchs, and so the force can be only external: the US Administration. Months before the Russian elections, Condi Rice boosted Putin’s stance among Russians with otherwise silly micro-installation of anti-ballistic missiles in Poland and Czech. Useless in strategic terms, the ABM allowed Putin to take anti-American stance so popular with Russian voters. Putin started his term with Chechen war, and fittingly ended it with ABM crisis.
Only the US Administration can guarantee Putin safety of the tens of billions of dollars he holds in his foreign bank accounts and shares.