Mr Medvedev publishes articles on websites and tweets with the young and active, while Mr Putin's appeal is to pensioners and anyone glued to TV screens.

Vladimir Nabokov, the acclaimed author of Ada, Pnin, Pale Fire and that transgressive bestseller Lolita, is a writer whose imaginative mastery continues to torment successive generations.

The differences between the internet-savvy, Twittering Mr Medvedev and Mr Putin, who cultivates the image of a down-to-earth, hands-on leader, are stylistic.