The Putin-Medvedev tandemocracy is the joint leadership of Russia between 2008 and 2012 when Vladimir Putin, who was constitutionally barred from serving a third consecutive term as President of Russia, assumed the role of Prime Minister under President Dmitry Medvedev. While the office of Prime Minister is nominally the subservient position, opinion differs as to what extent Putin was the de facto leader during this period, with most opinion being either that Putin remained paramount or that he and Medvedev had similar levels of power. Putin was re-elected President in the 2012 election and Medvedev became his Prime Minister.