Earlier before the presidential elections, Vladimir Putin twice unexpectedly dismissed his prime ministers in order to strengthen their results. But Dmitry Medvedev managed to hold out longer than others.

Bloomberg writes about this, reminding that, at the same time, the popularity of the Russian premier on charges of corruption is falling and the protests that broke out this year. Therefore, the question arises whether the president will decide whether to get rid of Medvedev before the 2018 elections.

Two people from the environment of the Russian head of government told Bloomberg that he was more than ever alarmed by his political future. In turn, sources in the Kremlin told the publication that Medvedev's positions are becoming more shaky as the elections approach. His support rating, which was already low after two years of a severe recession, fell another 10% after mass protests across Russia due to allegations of corruption. Data "Levada Center" shows that 42% of Russians now support the premiere.

"Replacement of a second person in the country could help to breathe new life into the Putin regime and help increase voter turnout among voters oppressed by the longest economic recession in 20 years," reads the article.

However, according to political analyst Gleb Pavlovsky, the dismissal of Medvedev will be a gift for the oppositionist Alexei Navalny, who spread the film about the corruption of the prime minister. Bloomberg, citing sources in the Kremlin, writes that the scale of protests involving students and schoolchildren was an unpleasant surprise for Putin.

However, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the political future of the prime minister. And Medvedev's associates believe that all of his problems stem from a conflict with oligarch Igor Sechin, who controls Rosneft,. The government last year was on the way to the absorption by the oil giant of another company. However, then Putin sided with Sechin.

In the entourage of the president, there is concern that if something happens to Putin, according to the constitution, Medvedev will take his place.

"And although nothing threatens Putin in the near future, because, apparently, his health is in order, Medvedev, if he became president, he would have had a chance to recoup.

Therefore, the pressure on Putin is increasing, so that he eliminates the premiere, "the Kremlin's political consultant Sergei Markov told the publication.

Moscow also says that there is an informal agreement between Medvedev and Putin, according to which the prime minister will remain in office until 2018. But so far the head of the Russian government remains profitable for Putin, because he plays the role of a kind of "lightning rod". According to former official and political scientist Andrei Kolyadin, if Putin sacks Medvedev, he can become a target for criticism himself.