We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 February 2011
I completely understand how much remains to be done to make the state genuinely fair and attentive to its citizens…. I will give special attention to the fundamental role of law, which is the basis for both our state and our civil society. We must achieve true respect for the law and overcome legal nihilism, which seriously hinders development today.
Dmitriy Medvedev, May 2008Dmitriy Medvedev was inaugurated as Russian President in May 2008, bringing to a formal end the eight years of Vladimir Putin's presidency. However, it was Putin more than the Russian citizenry who was responsible for Medvedev's ascent to the presidency, and Medvedev immediately appointed Putin as his Prime Minister. Together Putin and Medvedev established what came to be known as a “tandemocracy” in which they share power. From the beginning, Medvedev developed a reputation as more “liberal” than Putin, railing against corruption and “legal nihilism.” In the terminology of this book, Medvedev marked improving “state quality” as one of his key priorities, something that he noted at his inauguration was a weak point for the Russian state.
This chapter concludes with a look at the future of Russian state building. To address that issue, we need to evaluate the extent to which presidential agency can change the trajectory of the Russian state; perhaps Russia is “doomed” to have a certain type of state due to its circumstances. Historically the strength of the Russian state has varied over the centuries, but a disregard for state quality has been fairly constant.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
