President Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday that the centralised Kremlin rule restored to Russia during the presidency of his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, was outdated, adding to speculation about a rift between the two ahead of 2012 polls.
During his 2000-2008 presidency, Mr Putin (58) limited the activity and media exposure of opposition parties and curtailed regional autonomy. Now prime minister, he steered Mr Medvedev into power in 2008 after the constitution prevented him from serving a third straight term.
Mr Medvedev (45) has vowed to open up the country’s political system, but few tangible changes have been seen. He said the political process in Russia concentrated power and left just one person to intervene in and solve problems on a national level. “This is bad, this means that we have a completely outdated, flawed system of [state] management, which needs to be changed,” the president said.