Vladimir Ryzhkov: Medvedev's Address Must Break From the Past
[Vladimir Ryzhkov, a State Duma deputy from 1993 to 2007, hosts a political talk show on Ekho Moskvy radio.]
Today, President Dmitry Medvedev will give his third annual state-of-the-nation address to the Federal Assembly. And yet, it is difficult to recall exactly what he spoke about in the first two addresses, which, according to the Constitution, should be the main speech by the head of state and should define the political course of the country’s leadership for each subsequent year.
The main reason why Medvedev’s presidential addresses are so quickly forgotten and play no significant role in Russia’s political life is that they are abstract and laden with insignificant initiatives. Abstract arguments about the need for modernization are quickly forgotten, while imitation or superficial reforms elicit indifference or disappointment from the public.
In fact, Medvedev has said quite a few correct and positive things during the past two years. On the whole, the issues he has addressed reflect the real and pressing needs of the country if Russia is to make the transition from increasing degradation to successful development. The call for modernization really does reflect the vital need for political, legal, social and economic transformation. His repeated call for the authorities to stop “nightmarizing” businesses is the proper reaction to development-inhibiting abuses aimed at defenseless private business and property owners. The emphasis on battling corruption indicates that the head of state recognizes that corruption has not only become the country’s main problem, but that it is steadily turning Russia into the world’s largest failed state. The recent reference to “political stagnation” demonstrates the president’s awareness of the long-obvious fact that the destruction of the country’s freedom of speech and political competition has released the corrupt Russian bureaucracy and its affiliated businesses from any form of control and has made the situation in the country effectively unmanageable.
Medvedev’s problem, however, is that after putting forward what is essentially the right agenda, he has been unable to implement it in practice. What’s more, in every area that he has listed, the situation has grown worse over these past few years...
Read entire article at Moscow Times
Today, President Dmitry Medvedev will give his third annual state-of-the-nation address to the Federal Assembly. And yet, it is difficult to recall exactly what he spoke about in the first two addresses, which, according to the Constitution, should be the main speech by the head of state and should define the political course of the country’s leadership for each subsequent year.
The main reason why Medvedev’s presidential addresses are so quickly forgotten and play no significant role in Russia’s political life is that they are abstract and laden with insignificant initiatives. Abstract arguments about the need for modernization are quickly forgotten, while imitation or superficial reforms elicit indifference or disappointment from the public.
In fact, Medvedev has said quite a few correct and positive things during the past two years. On the whole, the issues he has addressed reflect the real and pressing needs of the country if Russia is to make the transition from increasing degradation to successful development. The call for modernization really does reflect the vital need for political, legal, social and economic transformation. His repeated call for the authorities to stop “nightmarizing” businesses is the proper reaction to development-inhibiting abuses aimed at defenseless private business and property owners. The emphasis on battling corruption indicates that the head of state recognizes that corruption has not only become the country’s main problem, but that it is steadily turning Russia into the world’s largest failed state. The recent reference to “political stagnation” demonstrates the president’s awareness of the long-obvious fact that the destruction of the country’s freedom of speech and political competition has released the corrupt Russian bureaucracy and its affiliated businesses from any form of control and has made the situation in the country effectively unmanageable.
Medvedev’s problem, however, is that after putting forward what is essentially the right agenda, he has been unable to implement it in practice. What’s more, in every area that he has listed, the situation has grown worse over these past few years...