President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday met with a group of key leaders from the non-systemic opposition and reaffirmed his support for a package of reforms that would somewhat even out the political playing field. But while some opposition members cautiously hailed the meeting as a success, the unprecedented meeting is largely for show, experts warned ­ and Medvedev's own weakened position may leave little room for meaningful change.

The meeting was a rare, and indeed unprecedented, opportunity for the unregistered opposition to meet face-to-face with the authorities, ostensibly lending credibility to both the opposition for uniting behind its goals and Medvedev for offering the chance to listen. The move is the first for a new working group, headed by Vyacheslav Volodin, the president's first deputy chief of staff, which aims to create a discussion around Medvedev's proposed reforms, including the direct election of governors and a streamlined party registration process, among others.

Medvedev himself admitted ­ as he has before, albeit ­ that the current system is inefficient and poorly equipped to handle the new demands from civil society. "Our political system is not ideal and many of those who have gathered here today criticize it, sometimes harshly," he said, RIA Novosti reported. "At the same time, we should proceed from general principles when changing it."

Among those who were invited to the meeting, held at Medvedev's residence outside of Moscow, were Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov ­ both leaders of the unregistered People's Freedom Party ­ as well as Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov. Much to everyone's surprise, Medvedev supported the idea of a two-term limit for the presidency, a rather curious comment which pits him against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his near-certain return to the post. Medvedev even claimed he would consider a list delivered to him by Nemtsov of nearly 40 political prisoners whom the opposition wants pardoned by the end of Medvedev's term on May 7 ­ though he stopped short of guaranteeing them amnesty.

There was also a fair share of awkward moments for the participants. Such was the case when Nemtsov proposed a fresh round of parliamentary elections, something the president categorically refused. Udaltsov presented Medvedev with Duma Deputy and opposition leader Ilya Ponomaryov's torn shoe, the result of a scuffle with members of a pro-Kremlin youth group outside City Hall on Monday, when the leaders attempted unsuccessfully to secure permission to protest on March 5. The latter move provoked a joke from Medvedev and a promise that he'd investigate the tussle. And perhaps even more unrealistically, Udaltsov unsuccessfully lobbied to postpone the presidential elections by two years.

Despite Medvedev's guarded approach, the opposition remains cautiously optimistic. While fully recognizing Medvedev's dwindling influence within the Kremlin, key leaders seem focused more on setting a precedent than actually achieving their key goals. In an article for Echo of Moscow, Nemtsov wrote: "If at least one person of our list of political prisoners is pardoned, I'll feel as if the meeting wasn't in vain." Others offered similar reactions to the meeting. According to Udaltsov, the main goal of the new working group is to open a consistent, ongoing dialogue with the president ­ despite his rapidly diminishing term in office. "Either way, we need a legal basis for fair political competition, and these bills are directed exactly at this type of reform. They're not complete, but we'll continue to work on them; Medvedev said he would personally control the way these bills are adopted, and I think we'll be able to do this within his term limit," he told Russia Profile. "Of course, we're not certain about anything, but we need to at least attempt to influence the process."

However, experts claim this plan to partially open a line to the opposition belies the Kremlin's hidden strategy. According to Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Moscow-based Panorama think tank, the unprecedented event may mark a change in tactic, reflected in part by the Kremlin's new choreographer in chief, Vyacheslav Volodin. "Earlier, the idea was to keep the number of opposition parties at a minimum and control them all," he said. "Now, the line of reasoning is to include as many parties as possible, so that on each flank there will be many liberal, nationalist, communist, and other parties ­ and they'll all compete with each other and eventually weaken their own positions."

Yet questions arise over Medvedev's ability to call the shots in an environment in which his popularity has plummeted, much of the ruling elite has lost faith in him, and Putin plans his all-but-likely return to the presidency. While Medvedev played the arbiter at Monday's meeting ­ diplomatically balancing the Kremlin's interests with those of the increasingly vocal non-systemic opposition ­ it remains unclear whether it's a trend that will actually stick. Even one of his closest advisors, Igor Yurgens, hinted at Medvedev's lack of influence and authority when he told Bloomberg recently that his boss would fail as prime minister because Putin's allies in the cabinet would "tear him apart."

Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russia News - Russia

President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday met with a group of key leaders from the non-systemic opposition and reaffirmed his support for a package of reforms that would somewhat even out the political playing field. But while some opposition members cautiously hailed the meeting as a success, the unprecedented meeting is largely for show, experts warned ­ and Medvedev's own weakened position may leave little room for meaningful change.

The meeting was a rare, and indeed unprecedented, opportunity for the unregistered opposition to meet face-to-face with the authorities, ostensibly lending credibility to both the opposition for uniting behind its goals and Medvedev for offering the chance to listen. The move is the first for a new working group, headed by Vyacheslav Volodin, the president's first deputy chief of staff, which aims to create a discussion around Medvedev's proposed reforms, including the direct election of governors and a streamlined party registration process, among others.

Medvedev himself admitted ­ as he has before, albeit ­ that the current system is inefficient and poorly equipped to handle the new demands from civil society. "Our political system is not ideal and many of those who have gathered here today criticize it, sometimes harshly," he said, RIA Novosti reported. "At the same time, we should proceed from general principles when changing it."

Among those who were invited to the meeting, held at Medvedev's residence outside of Moscow, were Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov ­ both leaders of the unregistered People's Freedom Party ­ as well as Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov. Much to everyone's surprise, Medvedev supported the idea of a two-term limit for the presidency, a rather curious comment which pits him against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his near-certain return to the post. Medvedev even claimed he would consider a list delivered to him by Nemtsov of nearly 40 political prisoners whom the opposition wants pardoned by the end of Medvedev's term on May 7 ­ though he stopped short of guaranteeing them amnesty.

There was also a fair share of awkward moments for the participants. Such was the case when Nemtsov proposed a fresh round of parliamentary elections, something the president categorically refused. Udaltsov presented Medvedev with Duma Deputy and opposition leader Ilya Ponomaryov's torn shoe, the result of a scuffle with members of a pro-Kremlin youth group outside City Hall on Monday, when the leaders attempted unsuccessfully to secure permission to protest on March 5. The latter move provoked a joke from Medvedev and a promise that he'd investigate the tussle. And perhaps even more unrealistically, Udaltsov unsuccessfully lobbied to postpone the presidential elections by two years.

Despite Medvedev's guarded approach, the opposition remains cautiously optimistic. While fully recognizing Medvedev's dwindling influence within the Kremlin, key leaders seem focused more on setting a precedent than actually achieving their key goals. In an article for Echo of Moscow, Nemtsov wrote: "If at least one person of our list of political prisoners is pardoned, I'll feel as if the meeting wasn't in vain." Others offered similar reactions to the meeting. According to Udaltsov, the main goal of the new working group is to open a consistent, ongoing dialogue with the president ­ despite his rapidly diminishing term in office. "Either way, we need a legal basis for fair political competition, and these bills are directed exactly at this type of reform. They're not complete, but we'll continue to work on them; Medvedev said he would personally control the way these bills are adopted, and I think we'll be able to do this within his term limit," he told Russia Profile. "Of course, we're not certain about anything, but we need to at least attempt to influence the process."

However, experts claim this plan to partially open a line to the opposition belies the Kremlin's hidden strategy. According to Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Moscow-based Panorama think tank, the unprecedented event may mark a change in tactic, reflected in part by the Kremlin's new choreographer in chief, Vyacheslav Volodin. "Earlier, the idea was to keep the number of opposition parties at a minimum and control them all," he said. "Now, the line of reasoning is to include as many parties as possible, so that on each flank there will be many liberal, nationalist, communist, and other parties ­ and they'll all compete with each other and eventually weaken their own positions."

Yet questions arise over Medvedev's ability to call the shots in an environment in which his popularity has plummeted, much of the ruling elite has lost faith in him, and Putin plans his all-but-likely return to the presidency. While Medvedev played the arbiter at Monday's meeting ­ diplomatically balancing the Kremlin's interests with those of the increasingly vocal non-systemic opposition ­ it remains unclear whether it's a trend that will actually stick. Even one of his closest advisors, Igor Yurgens, hinted at Medvedev's lack of influence and authority when he told Bloomberg recently that his boss would fail as prime minister because Putin's allies in the cabinet would "tear him apart."