In Search of Modernization Without Irritation

Medvedev's Third Address To The Federal Assembly

Author(s): Hans-Henning Schröder
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 90
Pages: 2-5
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute of History, University of Basel
Publication Year: 2011

On 30 November 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev delivered his report on the state of the nation to the Federal Assembly - the bicameral Russian parliament. The guiding theme of his address was modernization, but the president avoided controversial or disputed issues, instead focusing on one area where general consensus could be expected: Meeting the needs of children, supporting their development, and creating an amenable environment for them. Very obviously, the address was crafted to avoid controversy and to convey an integrative stance. This is probably due to the fact that the power arrangement for the period following the 2012 presidential elections will have to be negotiated over the coming year. It would not have been helpful in this context for the president to make radical proposals in November 2010 and alienate parts of the elite. Thus, the annual address to the Federal Assembly was an overture for the follow-up debates that will ensue during the coming year.

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