Izvestia has found out how time changes a country's leader.
It has become a tradition in Russia: a person elevated to the highest post in the country changes beyond recognition. Vladimir Putin was two different persons at the start and finish of his presidency. Dmitry Medvedev has altered both as a personality and as an executive in the 12 months since his inauguration. To obtain a more nuanced picture of these changes, Izvestia has invited political psychologists to comment on the country's two leaders.
"At first Mr Medvedev seemed out of his element," said Yelena Shestopal, head of political psychology at Moscow State University. "Now he feels at home in his new role."
There are politicians who seek high office to cure their complexes: either they grew up in problem families and their parents did not love them, or, like Barack Obama, they had to prove something to somebody.
"Mr Medvedev belongs to politicians of the directly opposite type," Shestopal continued. "He is one of the few without complexes. For him, authority is a tool by means of which he can solve real problems, not his own. A country run by a person without hang-ups must be lucky."
Mr Medvedev mastered the role of head of state quicker than his predecessor. Experts recall that Mr Putin was nervous during the first half-year of his presidential career when he concentrated such power in his hands (his public slips of the tongue are an example). Mr Medvedev is pursuing his line a bit differently.
"He is becoming more natural, less forced and less played-up," says Alexander Yuryev, head of political psychology at St Petersburg State University. "He should have been himself from the beginning, avoiding strong words, jargon, folksiness, posing, special gait, etc. The more naturally he behaves, the more convincing and understandable he is."
Curiously enough, Mr Putin and Mr Medvedev have taken about the same period of time - eight years - to climb to the top after graduation from St Petersburg University. In 1991, Mr Putin was rector assistant, and in 1999, the successor to Boris Yeltsin. Mr Medvedev in 1999 was an associate professor and in 2007, the successor to Mr Putin. Experts, however, think it has taken Mr Putin more time and effort to get established on the political Olympus.
"Mr Putin has spent most of his nine-year spell on the sidelines of big politics, serving as St Petersburg Deputy Mayor," says Professor Oksana Gaman-Golutvina, from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. "Mr Medvedev, on the other hand, before he took over the reins, was on the Olympus, in the limelight, holding the posts of Chief of Presidential Executive Office and First Deputy Prime Minister."
That was perhaps why he adapted himself more quickly. Or perhaps the example of his "political father" Mr Putin played the key role. Experts say that during the first months Mr Putin devoted a lot of time to initiating Mr Medvedev into his job. Mr Medvedev studied intensively. Psychologists note: Mr Putin learned the ropes of presidential craft intuitively, while Mr Medvedev approached it as a science. With time, the young President began oozing the charisma of power, in part thanks to his sudden display of toughness.
"In the early stages of his presidency, Mr Medvedev made his leadership style demonstrably tough, designed to disprove others' false expectations that he would be a ‘pocket' President," Oksana Gaman-Golutvina believes. "Such a style is essential if the President wants to deal with a political class that has sharp teeth. His weakness as a leader in the initial phase could raise problems for him in the future."
"Look at the way he conducts his meetings. Mr Medvedev regularly dresses down his subordinates in public, stressing that he will have his instructions fulfilled anyway, though even Mr Putin's directives were not always carried out. He often uses such words as "slackness and slovenliness". In the view of experts, Mr Medvedev is now setting up his signposts: he is not a pocket President and will press his line even if it slightly departs from the tactics and strategies of other leading players.
"But while Mr Putin more often than not positions himself as a popular leader (recall his speech to supporters at Luzhniki Stadium before parliamentary elections), Mr Medvedev prefers the part of a competent leader. During the first half of his rule, Mr Putin, aware that the Yeltsin-era elite was too loose a foundation, sought support among the masses. Mr Medvedev is seeking support from intellectuals and liberal-minded people. One can talk to babushkas. The other is able to listen to rights defenders. It is no accident that nation-wide "hot lines" have remained with Mr Putin, while Mr Medvedev feels more comfortable in the cosy atmosphere of the "Talk to the President" programme - a new TV feature specially created for him.
In 2000, the young President Vladimir Putin was expected to resign soon. In 2008, it was thought the young President Dmitry Medvedev would play second fiddle in politics. Both were first considered "technical successors". Both forecasts have been disproved.
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"In the early stages of his presidency, Mr Medvedev made his leadership style demonstrably tough, designed to disprove others' false expectations that he would be a ‘pocket' President."
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Social policy
Between May 2008 and May 2009, benefits for veterans and people with disabilities and monthly maternity allowances and birth grants were indexed twice: in July 2008, by 1.8%, and in April 2009, by 13%.
During this period, lump-sum payments to veterans and people with disabilities increased by 15.1%.
State grants for people with children were indexed in 2008 by 10.5% and in 2009 by 13%.
Maternal (family) capital amounted to 276,300 roubles in 2008, and 312,200 roubles in 2009, after additional indexing.