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Medvedev targets Russia's weaknesses, pledges change
Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:40am EDT
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By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev called Russia's democracy weak and its economy ineffective on Thursday in his newest effort to distance himself from the legacy of his predecessor Vladimir Putin and build a powerbase of his own.
In an article on web portal Gazeta.ru outlining his vision of Russia's future in the next decade, Medvedev cited his biggest challenges as modernizing the economy, fighting corruption and abolishing state paternalism.
"An ineffective economy, semi-Soviet social sphere, weak democracy, negative demographic trends and an unstable Caucasus. These are very big problems even for a state like Russia," he said.
Sustainable democracy would give Russia the political and economic flexibility it needed, he said.
"Russia's political system will be open, flexible and complex," he said. "As in most democratic nations, the leaders of the political struggle will be parliamentary parties which periodically replace each other in power."
Medvedev's comments were the latest sign of his attempts to set himself apart from the popular and charismatic Putin, who is now prime minister.
He has given a series of interviews to Russian media, including an opposition Novaya Gazeta, in which he flagged his opinion on key issues from civil society to education.
Medvedev, 44 on Monday, won elections and took office last year after being handpicked by Putin.
The two men pledged to rule in tandem and there have so far been no signs of any rifts despite several tests including the severe economic crisis that struck Russia last year.
A year on, however, Putin remains more popular and more influential according to opinion polls, thanks to the economic boom he presided over for eight years, which raised living standards and ended post-Soviet political instability.
Critics accuse him of making the economy less sustainable by focusing too much on oil and gas exports, destabilizing the political system by retreating from democracy and hurting society by encouraging state paternalism, where the state decides what is best for its citizens.
Analysts say Medvedev hopes to woo those alienated by Putin as well as those who did not benefit during the economic boom.
FREEDOMS WON'T BE CURBED
Medvedev has pledged to diversify the economy and has called for more political competition, a contrast to the Putin presidency when sweeping powers were concentrated in the Kremlin and any public opposition discouraged.
Medvedev promised not to modernize Russia at the expense of political and social freedoms, citing the negative examples of the 18th century Czar Peter the Great and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Continued...
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