Moscow, 6 May: Since coming to power last year, Dmitriy Medvedev has proved himself a leader capable of working in crisis conditions and inviting opposition political forces to a dialogue with the authorities, Russian political analysts believe.

"Medvedev is offering his own interpretation of his tandem with Prime Minister Putin, whereby the president does not want to be a representative of a majority but a representative of each citizen of Russia, even those citizens who do not support the president and, being in opposition, argue with his policies," president of the Effective Politics foundation Gleb Pavlovskiy told Interfax.

He believes that the "Medvedev-Putin tandem is not just a union of two people, but a new political culture of Russia, a culture of public politics".

Pavlovskiy believes Medvedev has managed to establish dialogue with small political associations, "significant but different". "They are leaders in civil society, human rights activists and representatives of the middle class, which is politically diverse and consists of many different communities," Pavlovskiy said.

"Conducting a dialogue with them, Medvedev has significantly increased mobility in society, invigorated communities, which have started producing leaders. These leaders enter into a dialogue with the president. This is a new phenomenon, it did not exist before," Pavlovskiy said.

Under Medvedev, the expert community oriented towards result has become noticeably more active. "Last year, the expert community has started working in a real dialogue with the authorities for the first time. This was not just a demonstration of trust and commentaries on events, but interaction with ministers and the government to draw anticrisis measures. Experts criticize some measures and offer their own. Their criticism is studied," Pavlovskiy said.

For his part, deputy director of the Centre of Political Technologies Aleksey Makarkin said that Medvedev had demonstrated his ability to take responsible decisions in politics and the economy, both in favourable and crisis conditions alike.

"When Medvedev became president, the prevalent point of view was that his presidency would be quiet, but it turned to be otherwise. This was determined by both external and economic factors," Makarkin told Interfax.

The situation was such that, in a short period of time, the president showed his ability to react to different challenges, Makarkin said. Thus, he said, Medvedev had to "fulfil his functions of supreme commander-in-chef when, in effect, a war broke out in the South Caucasus".

Makarkin believes Medvedev has managed to build a good system to react to challenges brought about by the global financial crisis.

"There was a view before that Russia was a quiet financial backwater. When the world financial crisis came, Medvedev had to make serious economic decisions. I would say he had to become an anticrisis president," Makarkin said.