Today, President Dmitry Medvedev will give his third annual state-of-the-nation address to the Federal Assembly. And yet, it is difficult to recall exactly what he spoke about in the first two addresses, which, according to the Constitution, should be the main speech by the head of state and should define the political course of the country’s leadership for each subsequent year.
The main reason why Medvedev’s presidential addresses are so quickly forgotten and play no significant role in Russia’s political life is that they are abstract and laden with insignificant initiatives. Abstract arguments about the need for modernization are quickly forgotten, while imitation or superficial reforms elicit indifference or disappointment from the public.
