Laying down the law: Medvedev vows war on Russia’s ‘legal nihilism’

Promising continuity with his predecessor, the president-elect puts the accent on tackling corruption and the pursuit of an assertive foreign policy
Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin’s hand-picked successor, secured an overwhelming victory in the election to become Russia’s next president
The president has insisted that, as commander-in-chief, he called the shots in the Georgian crisis. But most Russians believe that the his predecessor still takes all the big decisions
A backlog of $45bn in foreign debt held by Russian companies and banks remains to be refinanced by the end of the year amid difficult conditions as western investors reprice the risk of doing business there
An exodus of foreign capital is forcing Russian banks to slash lending as the international reaction to the military standoff with Georgia starts to affect the real economy
New Right party chief calls for president’s resignation over ‘catastrophic consequences’ of war with Russia
While on an official trip to Beijing, Russia’s new president has joined his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in saying Washington’s proposed missile defence shield could upset strategic stability
Dmitry Medvedev will lay his hand on the Russian constitution and intone the 33-word oath confirming him as the country’s third post-communist president
Increases add to woes of consumers
Medvedev to lead second world war celebration
Key sectors such as energy targeted
Polish foreign minister speaks to FT

Promising continuity with his predecessor, the president-elect puts the accent on tackling corruption and the pursuit of an assertive foreign policy

The man poised to be Russia’s next president is recalled by former colleagues as studious but seldom inspiring – yet some say he could one day step out of Putin’s shadow
By its actions in Georgia, Russia is trying unilaterally to redefine the rules of the game. That can never be acceptable to an organisation like the EU
Russia’s new president must stick to his plan to embed the rule of law and face down those who want the Kremlin to keep a monopoly on power