Medvedev to tout reforms in Russia address

Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev is likely to promise more reform in his annual address today, hoping to put a personal stamp on a presidency which has so far stayed in the shadow of his mentor Vladimir Putin.

Aides have said Medvedev's speech, due to start at 1200 local time (1000 Malta), will draw on ideas he outlined in an article in September lamenting the state of modern Russia and calling for change.

Whether the speech, which Medvedev will make to lawmakers in the Grand Kremlin Palace, will make any real difference to Russia remains to be seen.

Analysts say Medvedev, who is nearing the halfway mark of his four-year term, has so far outlined lofty ideas but failed to make significant improvements to the country's limited democracy, controlled media and woeful human rights record.

Most diplomats, officials and ordinary Russians believe Putin, now Prime Minister and leader of the ruling party, remains firmly in charge and makes all the key decisions, leaving Medvedev largely as a figurehead.

Almost all the key Kremlin administration and cabinet appointments are held by Putin loyalists. Policy-making in many areas such as foreign affairs and the economy is indistinguishable from the Putin years.

Russian officials say the economic crisis, which hit Russia far harder than other large developing countries, strengthened the hand of nationalist hardliners in the government by undermining the case for Western style capitalism and showing the value of government intervention and state control.

Medvedev has frequently spoken of the need to create a 21st century knowledge economy in Russia based on technology and innovation but the past year has seen the government spending billions of dollars propping up failing old-style firms such as AvtoVAZ, the maker of the widely mocked Lada cars.

The country's economy remains very weak, with some signs of tentative recovery showing but no prospect of a rapid return to the oil-fuelled growth rates of 7-8 percent seen in the Putin presidential years.

The Kremlin is heavily preoccupied with social stability and preventing mass unrest amid the crisis, further limiting the scope for bold economic reforms.

Last year's Medvedev address delivered some mild proposals for political reform which were intended to help opposition parties. They were followed by a series of elections which analysts and critics described as among the country's dirtiest.

State-controlled media remains firmly under the Kremlin's grip and continues to routinely ignore opposition parties and critics of the government, despite Medvedev-inspired legislation which supposedly guaranteed opposition parties access.

Medvedev has used friendlier language towards human rights campaigners and spoken out on rights issues but the past year has seen an escalation in extra-judicial killings and harassment of NGOs, particularly in the North Caucasus region.

The most important change Medvedev presented last year was a constitutional reform allowing the next presidential term to be extended from four to six years -- a move widely expected to benefit Putin, if he returns to his old Kremlin job in 2012.