President Medvedev's state of the nation address set out his view for a modern, progressive Russia. But, as with anything involving Russian politics nothing is ever completely clear. The calls for transparency and a renewed vigour in the fight against corruption sounded promising as did calls for a strategic forum with NATO. However, whether or not these policies come into effect is undeniably largely up to Vladimir Putin. The publicity may claim the two rule Russia together but Putin is the one people reserve the title 'tsar' for.
It is largely accepted that Medvedev's position is just to supply a cosmetic 'front' to the United Russia theatre until the next election in 2012. His role has been to modernize Russian politics, giving it a friendly face and to an extent this has been a success. His web presence has given birth to a series of video blogs and a reform embracing article, 'Russia, Forward' posted online supplied an unprecedented basis for citizen input. This subsequently informed much of the address with Medvedev eager to assert that 16,000 replies had been contributed to his existing draft making for a representative policy program. A clear favour winner but does the technocrat President use this to distinguish himself from the 'silovik' cadre of former intelligence officers that dominates the ruling elite? No.
Within Thursday's speech were a series of policies aimed, not necessarily at strengthening United Russia's power base as in 2008, but at tackling very real threats to its stability. His much reported suggestion to reduce the amount of timezones Russia lays across at first appeared as a novel gimmick, compared by journalists to Hugo Chavez's bizarre time change of 2007. However, it supplies the only means of reintegrating Russia's long dislocated far eastern territories, the site of recent social and anti government unrest, with its European center. This itself is an issue that Vladimir Putin has often raised and it is impossible to imagine, as some Russian media outlets have, that the Prime Minister was unaware of the speech contents. His oft reported surprise being just another scripted piece.
But elsewhere the act slipped at times, the familiar sentiment that "any attempt to use democratic slogans to destabilize Russia will be stopped" was sandwiched between concrete policy commitments that moved far further than Putin has ever been prepared to go. They included practical solutions to make the "election system more transparent" and deal with corruption. These words may appear more as a quiet release of gas from a democratic safety valve than the voice of a reformer but they indicate Medvedev's willingness to push the agenda. Russian media outlet Kommersant's comparison with Obama on economic policy may have been hyperbole but the President certainly showed glimpses of the ideas needed to keep Russia relevant.
A less familiar foreign policy approach was also suggested as the speech echoed Kremlin support for multipolarity and primacy of the UN but lacked the tone of confrontation idiosyncratic to Putin's reign. Medvedev indicated that Russia "must reconsider its approach" toward both Iran and Afghanistan whilst assigning Europe as a priority. With the upcoming dialogue with NATO in December calls for a strategic forum rang loud as Medvedev's speech began to sound like it might bear the hallmarks of individuality, these moments quickly flickered and disappeared though.
Still, the West must get to grips with the unique nature of this partnership. There are reasons that the Kremlin deems its foreign policy to have been more successful with the tandem leadership than at any time over the previous decade. Medvedev is not only a puppet but his role is a vital component of the modern Russian political system. This may be a managed construct but its one that has benefits past simply suiting Vladimir Putin. Medvedev is proving important and his complicity in the performance is not only vital for United Russia but also for domestic stability and Moscow's standing internationally.
However, despite Putin's insistence that "we are people of one blood, with the same political views" there is increasing evidence that Medvedev could pull away from United Russia's gravity. Rumours continue to circulate that the President will form his own party or accept an invitation to lead Just Russia, a political group stuck somewhere short of a full opposition party. Maybe Medvedev can emerge from the smoke and mirrors to institute limited democratic and economic reform whilst leading a credible second party. The country may not be built for our particular brand of liberal democracy but strong foundations of transparency and state reliability have now been placed high on the agenda. Medvedev may currently be on cue but perhaps he's hinting at a more independent policy in the future.
Josh Posaner just completed an internship with atlantic-community.org and holds an M.A. from the School of Oriental and Asian Studies.
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November 18, 2009
Ting Shiang Lee, , Gold Contributor (125)
That makes smooth, maybe a little slower, reform possible, to the best interests of Russia and Russian people, without, sometimes unnecessary, chaos.
Mr. Medvedev needs assistance from Mr. Putin, as Mr. Putin is travelling around Russia to hear the calls of the nation, and etc.
The western media is, at times, biased toward Mr. Putin, and all these articles are compiled on Mr.Putin's website and sent to people to form their own opinions.
For reference, and hope a successful EU-Russia summit can be achieved.