Dmitry Astakhov / Ria Novosti via Reuters

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stands in his office in Moscow on April 9, 2013, before an interview with a Russian television channel.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin continued a European trip marked by protest, his successor as Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was left looking rather wistful at his office back in Moscow Tuesday.

Since Putin and Medvedev swapped jobs in May last year, the latter has found himself out of the limelight and has even found time to indulge his passion for photography.

NPR's Moscow correspondent Corey Flintoff reported earlier this month that Medvedev appears increasingly isolated from the center of power and may have been the target of a campaign to wreck his reputation.

Putin, who was confronted by topless protesters in Germany on Monday, faced further demonstrations in the Netherlands, where 1,000 gay rights activists waved pink and orange balloons and blasted out dance music to condemn Russia's treatment of homosexuals. 

AFP - Getty Images, RIA Novosti via AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a busy day Monday: (clockwise from top left) Sitting in a Volkswagen XL 1 Hybrid car in Hanover, Germany; laughing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel; arriving at Schiphol airport in The Netherlands; drinking a toast with Dutch Queen Beatrix at the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam.

Robin Utrecht / EPA

Demonstrators participate in a protest near the National Maritime Museum, where Putin was having dinner, in Amsterdam on April 8, 2013. The protesters were denouncing a so-called 'homosexual propaganda ban' in Russia which was enacted in January.

Previously on PhotoBlog: On holiday with Putin and Medvedev

Dmitry Astakhov / Government Press Service via RIA Novosti - AP

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, center, holds a cabinet meeting to discuss railway ticket pricing on a train leaving Omsk on Aug 6, 2012. Deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich is at left and Enegy Minister Alexander Novak at right.

Dmitry Astakhov / Government Press Service via RIA Novosti - AP

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visits a railway museum in the village of Tpoki in Siberia on Aug. 6, 2012.

See more images of Dmitry Medvedev on PhotoBlog.

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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stand together at the end of a bilateral meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 26, 2012.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, chats with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a bilateral meeting at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March, 26, 2012.

The leaders of the two super-powers and former Cold war foes met in South Korea to discuss the state of nuclear arms with other world leaders.

At the very beginning of the photo opportunity after the the bilateral meeting between them, the two leaders, seemingly unaware of a live microphone, had this hushed exchange about missile defense:

Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it's important for him to give me space.

Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you...

Obama: This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility

Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladmir.

White House spokesman Ben Rhodes responded to reporters' inquiries about the conversation saying:

Ben Rhodes: "The United States is committed to implementing our missile defense system, which we've repeatedly said is not aimed at Russia. However, given the longstanding difference between the US and Russia on this issue, it will take time and technical work before we can try to reach an agreement. Since 2012 is an election year in both countries, with an election and leadership transition in Russia and an election in the United States, it is clearly not a year in which we are going to achieve a breakthrough. Therefore, President Obama and President Medvedev agreed that it was best to instruct our technical experts to do the work of better understanding our respective positions, providing space for continued discussions on missile defense cooperation going forward."

Story: Obama says the U.S has a 'moral obligation' to lead efforts to reduce nuclear stockpiles

Story: Obama vows to pursue further nuclear cuts with Russia

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We've featured one or two slightly odd photos of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev on PhotoBlog recently. The latest eccentric images of Russia's two top leaders were taken by an official Kremlin photographer who accompanied the pair as they holidayed on the banks of the Volga on Tuesday. Reuters reports that the fishing and boating trip comes as they are believed to be close to a decision on which of them will run for president.

Mikhail Klimentyev / Presidential Press Service - RIA Novosti via AP, AFP - Getty Image and Reuters

Three images of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on holiday on the Volga River in the Astrakhan region of Russia, about 800 miles south of Moscow, on Aug. 16.

Ellen Barry of The New York Times wrote today about Putin and Medvedev's obsession with image and approval ratings:

Kremlin insiders see popularity as a key to the survival of a government that, 20 years after the Soviet collapse, has few stable state institutions other than its leaders' personalities.

This accounts for a political life that sometimes looks like a never-ending campaign, in which leaders extinguish wildfires, upbraid billionaire industrialists, or, as was seen last week, scuba dive in the company of a camera crew.

A recent article in Der Spiegel set the complex shadow boxing between Putin and Medvedev in historical context:

This isn't open political competition. Instead, the issue of who will ascend to the most powerful position in Russia will be determined by Byzantine, behind-the-scenes intrigues. Indeed, little has changed since Winston Churchill compared Stalin-era power struggles to bulldogs fighting under a carpet: "An outsider only hears the growling," he said, "and when he sees the bones fly out from beneath, it is obvious who won."

Mikhail Klimentyev / Presidential Press Service - Ria Novosti via Reuters, Alexsey Druginyn / Ria Novosti via Reuters

Left: Dmitry Medvedev prepares to dive with an underwater camera in the river Volga on August 16. Right: Vladimir Putin carries artifacts he recovered whilst diving at an archaeological site off the Taman peninsular in southern Russia on August 10.

Dmitry Astakhov / AFP - Getty Images

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is made up as he prepares for his first full press conference in Skolkovo outside Moscow on May 18. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today refused to say if he intended to seek a new mandate in 2012 but said an announcement on the decision should be expected soon.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today held his biggest news conference since taking office, discussing his relationship with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, missile defense, the collapsed BP-Rosneft oil deal and a number of other issues. Click here to read more.

Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, war veterans and cadets watch a military parade in Red Square on Victory Day in Moscow. May 9, 2011 is the 66th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.

Yuri Kochetkov / EPA

Two World War II veterans decorated with medals chat to each other during the Victory Parade in Red Square, Moscow.

Yuri Maltsev / Reuters

A Russian war veteran dances during Victory Day celebrations in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.

Tens of thousands of granite-faced soldiers marched in lockstep across Red Square Monday in Russia's annual Victory Day display of military might, while President Dmitry Medvedev said the country is committed to peace and global stability.

The parade, marking the surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II, is the centerpiece of Russia's most solemn secular holiday, both commemorating the Soviet Union's enormous sacrifices in the war and asserting the potency of its modern military. Continue reading.