Declared Unity or the two different people?

Putin and Medvedev sit in a restaurant. Putin: “I’ll have the steak.” Waiter: “And what about the vegetable?” Putin: “He’ll take the steak too.” (LATimes)

So, as awaited, Medvedev won. He won because he went with Putin. For most of the Russians Putin - new Jesus Christ, that saved Russia, which is also trying to save the world from “US hegemony in the world”. The United States of America and its champion countries are the main enemy that “want to destroy the country of russians”.

I was not going to talk about this issue. I just wanted to question if the declared unity of Medvedev and Putin works. Actually, there takes a place differences between these two people: Putin was KGB agent, but Medvedev not - he was enterpreuner, law professor and etc. Does Medvedev want to be always under powerful Putin? Can the phrase “handpicked successor” be addressed to him?