Analysts¹ long speculated that Medvedev was merely a "seat warmer" while Putin served as Prime Minister due to constitutional restrictions².

分析人士早就猜测梅德韦杰夫只是普京受宪法限制不得不屈就总理期间的“过渡人物”。

Seat warmer一般是指“坐椅加温器”，在这里引申为“过渡人物”。新加坡也出现过类似情形，When he took over as Prime Minister from the senior Lee in 1990, Goh was widely considered a seat-warmer for the younger Lee.当Goh于1990年从李阁老（李光耀）手中接过总理这一职务时，人们普遍认为他只是小李（李显龙）之前的过渡人物。

在体育赛场上，seat warmer指的是“候补队员”，用来替换伤病队员，或者状态不好的队员。有时也称他们是“坐冷板凳”。他们很少离开座位，不久就用体