>RED WAVE
HOOAH!
The short answer is that clearances and/or information from cleared indivisuals was sold to the highest bidder during hussein's, bush's and clinton's terms.
"The general idea is that the president defines the general aspects of the policy, while the PM (correctly called "chairman of the government") works out the details."
The PM is the head of the executive branch and coordinates the actions of other ministers. He is appointed by the president (after approval by the parliament).''"
The president is the head of the state. He is not in fact part of the executive branch, but is rather sort of above the three branches of government. He is also directly controls the army (as commander-in-chief) and the siloviki - i.e. police, FSB and other security agencies.''"
Overall, the PM is considered a rather technical role, not a decision maker. This was not the case though during Medvedev's presidency. While nominally second to Medvedev, Putin (who could not run for a third term as president in a row) was de facto the man in charge.''"
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-president-and-the-prime-minister-in-Russia