Dmitry Medvedev's first 100 days began when he, barely registered as a candidate for president, was addressing the civil forum. This moment marked the beginning of the 100 days of the alliance of the rulers, i.e. Medvedev's tandem with Putin. Medvedev the candidate is President Vladimir Putin's minimum, premiership is maximum.
The minimum identified with Medvedev began taking shape with his very first tours of the region and speeches in Moscow. Medvedev outlined his future program at the civil forum. Accustomed to reforms and reformers though Russia is, Medvedev's speech took it by surprise as something only a progressive
globalist could deliver.
Medvedev was quite laconic on international affairs, mostly remaining within the safe framework of Putin's super mission - that of decades of peace i.e. decades of keeping Russia out of global armed conflicts. It does not take a genius to notice what foreign political problems Putin's foreign political triumphs fomented.
Consider Ukraine and Georgia. Barely three years ago both countries were forced on Russia as "exemplary European models" while Russia itself was denied the right to choose its own European model of course. What do we see now? Revolutions in both countries are history, dictatorships turned out to be dismal failures. The Kremlin's policy with regard to the young generations made "color hopes" plainly futile.
Russia does not have anything to offer to the Ukrainians or Georgians in terms of what they themselves want or think that they want. Russia pretends that they are but ordinary sovereign neighbors which is an illusion of course because these are the countries that depend on Russia. When these countries make unfriendly or actually hostile decisions, Russia hints at the possibility of the use of military might - no more and no less. Election in Ukraine in 2009 will be taking place in a wholly different sociopolitical situation for the Ukrainians themselves and with Russia playing a new role in international affairs. It will be a game different from what it was in the past, a game requiring much higher stakes.
Russia in the meantime suffers from an unbelievable lack of data on the actual state of affairs on its own territory, which is an actually an insult to our ambitious national projects.
Unless society discovers what is working and what is not, it will never occur to it to try anything. These 100 days mark a kind of countdown... Choosing Medvedev, Putin made a leap of faith, took a step into the great political unknown. Namely, into the world of new political conflicts neither society in Russia nor the Russian authorities are prepared for. He is to be applauded and followed.
