2009-11-13

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, warned anti-Kremlin opposition politicians on Thursday against adopting radical tactics, promising he would head off any attempts to undermine the de facto one party system set up by Vladimir Putin.

In his annual state of the nation address, Mr Medvedev conceded that the existing political system was deeply flawed and outlined a series of modest reforms aimed at making it harder for the ruling United Russia party to rig elections at a local level.

But the reforms he proposed did not go far enough for his political opponents and Mr Medvedev signalled that the pace of political change would be gradual not swift. He warned opponents to play by the existing Kremlin rules or face the full force of the law.

In an address which covered everything from modernisation of the economy to reducing the number of time zones in Russia, currently 11, Mr Medvedev told Russia's assembled political elite: "Any attempts to rock the boat with democratic slogans, to destabilise the state and split society will be stopped."

"Strengthening democracy does not mean relaxing law and order. There is one law for everyone. I hope that everyone in this hall understands this," he said.

The country's pro-Western opposition immediately denounced the address.

"In order to modernise (Russia), Putin needs to be fired and the Putinesque vertical of power dismantled," said Boris Nemtsov, one of the main opposition leaders.

"Medvedev cannot do this because he is part of the existing system. He does not wield real power."

As if to underline that, Mr Putin, the prime minister, watched Mr Medvedev's speech from a front-row seat directly opposite him in one of the Kremlin's grandest halls.

If he was impressed by what the man he hand-picked to succeed him had to say he did not show it.

Polls show most Russians think Mr Putin and not Mr Medvedev wields supreme power, while many political analysts believe Mr Putin may return to the presidency in 2012. Mr Medvedev has cast himself as a liberal moderniser and tried to forge a separate political identity from Mr Putin. But critics accuse him of being all talk and no action.

Sergei Mitrokhin, leader of the opposition Yabloko party, yesterday denounced Mr Medvedev's tentative moves towards democracy as "microscopic".

Mr Medvedev said he understood that the political system needed overhauling while at the same time defending it, a difficult tightrope to walk.

"People are voicing problems about the organisation of elections, about a low political culture, and about a lack of deeply thought through alternative proposals," he conceded, before setting out ten minor reforms he felt would help.

His comments come after critics slammed recent local elections across the world's largest country as a farce. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, launched a scathing critique of the political system in their wake and even Kremlin-friendly opposition parties said the scale of fraud was over the top.

MPs from the three nominal opposition parties in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, staged a walkout in protest. Perhaps the only genuine opposition party among them – the Communists – have since vowed further disruption.

Mr Medvedev's comments appeared to be a warning that he would only tolerate so much genuine opposition. Gennady Zyuganov, the veteran Communist party leader, appeared to take the hint and said "over half" of his demands for political change had been met in Mr Medvedev's speech.

David Clark, chair of the Russia Foundation, said there was a big gap between Mr Medvedev's rhetoric and his deeds. "While President Medvedev talks of democratic modernisation, Russia appears to be moving in the opposite direction," he said. "The effect of this contradiction is to provoke cynicism and raise doubts about President Medvedev's sincerity."

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