Putin says to Medvedev: “Which of us is president and which of us is prime minister today?”

“I don’t remember,” Medvedev replies. “I could be prime minister today.”

“Then go fetch some beer,” Putin says.

It tidily sums up the ambiguities of Russia’s new power­sharing agreement whereby the baby­faced Medvedev will serve as president with the stern Putin serving below him as prime minister — tapping into widespread speculation that it’s really Putin who will be the boss.

This new odd couple at the pinnacle of power has become ideal fodder for the cherished and once dangerous Russian tradition of poking fun at leaders through satirical jokes called anekdoty.

Anekdoty have long been a litmus test of public opinion — and individual liberties — in a country where in the past people faced exile, prison or worse for expressing their opinions directly.

Despite the danger, Soviet citizens told stories lampooning Josef Stalin’s heavy Georgian accent. The last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was ridiculed for his reputedly domineering wife and for his short­lived campaign to eradicate alcoholism.

Anekdoty remained mostly an oral tradition until the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the first printed anthologies often outsold serious novels.

Even after the end of the Soviet Union, the anekdoty tradition survived.

Russians told tall tales built around President Boris Yeltsin’s heavy drinking, and even the popular Putin could not escape barbed jokes about his KGB history and his use of salty slang.

Over the years, the Kremlin has tightened controls on the mass media, and that, perhaps, has led to a modest revival of anekdoty.

Puns are crucial in many Medvedev jokes. His last name stems from medved, the word for bear. The name recalls the Western stereotype of Russia as a country of brutal and drunken bear­men — not quite the pup­like figure cut by the president­elect.

It is unclear how long the Putin­Medvedev duo will last — but the longer it does, the more anekdoty it is likely to inspire.

In an online poll at anekdot.ru, one of the most popular Medvedev jokes is one that clearly pinpoints the puppeteer in Russia’s politics.

In the joke, Putin takes Medvedev to a restaurant and orders a steak. “What about the vegetable?” the waiter asks. Putin looks at Medvedev and says, “The vegetable will have steak, too.”