Who is Mr. Medvedeff?

“Putin has chosen a liberal as his successor,” headlines are full of newspapers. Dmitry Medvedev, who is now entering the presidential race, has the opportunity to prove it: to declare his principles, announce his intentions and, if he is elected, put them into practice in the first 100 days. That is, when the newly elected leader's hands are not yet bound by obligations to various clans and interest groups, and he can afford to take independent steps. If - in principle, can afford them.

There are only five criteria that would make it clear to what extent Medvedev's "accusations" of liberalism correspond to reality.

1. The return of the constitutional right to freedom of speech and dissemination of information. This requires a little: live broadcast on TV channels, providing equal prime time for the opposition, the creation of a public or public-private federal TV channel, which neither the state nor state corporations affiliated with it will have the right to influence.

2. Amnesty for all political prisoners, including those who were sentenced to criminal charges as a result of the selective application of the law, motivated by the interests of people in power and political considerations. The amnesty of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev would be a good example of this.

3. A commitment that the state will stop using its pre-emptive right to violence to redistribute property and seize businesses, and that repressive agencies will become what they should be - law enforcement agencies.

4. Adoption of a program to combat corruption, the first point of which should be a prohibition for government officials to hold any positions in commercial organizations.

5. Bringing the entire scope of legislation, primarily electoral laws, in line with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, returning citizens the right to elect heads of regions, as well as to be elected regardless of belonging to party structures.

This is the main thing. By these criteria, it will be possible to judge Who is Mr. Medvedeff is a liberal or an obedient executor of someone else's will.