"My most important aims will be to protect civil and economic freedoms," he has said. In speeches far different in tone than those of his predecessor, he has promised to focus on civil rights and the rule of law. These envisage a more liberal Russia, with a freer media and less state interference. He has fresh ideas, developed mainly during his time in local government in St Petersburg. Not for him a grim Cold War view of the world. Not for him the traditional route to power through the KGB. Mr Medvedev, a 42-year-old lawyer, represents a generational change in Russian politics. It may, however, be too early to start writing that footnote. Mr Putin has filled the Government with loyalists, and Mr Medvedev has appointed three of the former President's closest aides to run his Administration. In the first few days of the Medvedev presidency, there has been little to disprove this idea. The power-hungry Mr Putin, it is said, will reclaim that position in four years. Russia's new President is said to be a puppet in the hands of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who hand-picked his successor when, as the country's constitution demands, he had to relinquish the presidency after eight years.
According to conventional wisdom, Dimitry Medvedev's only place in history will be as an odd footnote.
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