Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a candid perspective on political freedom and the country's dependence on oil and gas.

In an article published on Gazeta.ru, Medvedev "portrayed the country's economy in a bleak light, decried Russia's "humiliating" dependence on oil and gas exports, and conceded that the global downturn had exposed serious structural problems in Russia's battered economy," reports The Daily Telegraph.

He added that "influential groups of corrupt officials and businessmen" would attempt to thwart efforts to reform Russia's systems, emphasizing that change would be gradual.

Read the full text of President Dmitry Medvedev's article >>