Medvedev faces tough challenges at 100 days

By Oleg Shchedrov - Analysis

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev marks 100 days in the Kremlin on Thursday still trying to establish his leadership amid a dizzying array of challenges, ranging from war with Georgia to scared investors selling out.

Medvedev inherited from his predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin an awkward legacy: a confident, economically booming country haunted by a strong centralisation of power in the Kremlin, the weak rule of law and rampant corruption.

The 42-year-old former lawyer has no experience in political leadership and little charisma, which led to widespread assumptions he would be a junior partner in tandem with Putin, now prime minister and still Russia's most popular politician.

An opinion poll conducted by the Levada Centre in mid-July showed only 9 percent of Russians believed Medvedev was calling the shots. Some 47 percent thought they were ruling together, while 36 percent believed Putin was still in charge.

The crisis over Georgia's pro-Russian separatist region of South Ossetia provided a test of who was in charge.

Moscow sent a large force of troops, planes and warships last week to repel a Georgian attempt to retake the province, driving Tbilisi's forces back.

Putin initially dominated television screens, cutting short a visit to the Beijing Olympics to fly back and visit hospitals packed with refugees, attend major official events and make statements ahead of the president.

"Putin's strong public play is no surprise," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the magazine Russia in Global Politics. "In the eyes of many Russians, he is a man of war closely associated with security issues."

Putin is a former KGB agent who spent most of his presidency fighting a rebel insurgency in the Muslim province of Chechnya.

But it was Medvedev who delivered to the nation the tough news of a new military campaign on Friday and it was he who told the troops to cease fire on Tuesday. He and Putin held crucial talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, opening the way for European mediation in the conflict.

"The situation in South Ossetia has shown the balance of forces," said Alexei Mukhin, head of the Centre of Political Information, a Moscow think-tank. "Putin maintains a leading role, but Medvedev is slowly approaching him."

SHAKY TANDEM

The South Ossetia crisis and other recent events have clearly demonstrated that Putin and Medvedev share an assertive approach to foreign policy, which has irked the West.

In the first 100 days of his rule, Medvedev upset hopes that he might show a softer position in a series of diplomatic clashes, ranging from Iran's nuclear programme to U.S. plans to deploy a missile defence system in central Europe.

But while the Putin-Medvedev tandem has worked smoothly on foreign policy, splits have emerged on domestic issues.