Greater “transparency”, be it actual openness or not, has been one of the pillars of the Dmitry Medvedev presidency in Russia. With that in mind, Al-Jazeera has reported that today, Medvedev has begun a blog on a popular internet site.

Investors need not heed this information as any more than a gaffe, a public relations initiative with no moral compass for an open forum or even any direction in mind, similar to the pillar of addressing legal nihilism. The true motive is more simply to adhere to what many analysts believe is the continued will of former President and current Prime Minister Putin.

As excerpted from Al-Jazeera.net:

Medvedev made his debut on Live Journal, one of Russia’s most popular blogging sites and an outpost for “free” (if not stringently censored) speech.

Speaking in a video posted on the site, he said: “Lately the internet has grown into a fully fledged self-regulating system, and one that strongly influences all aspects of our life. At the forefront are social networks and blogs.“

Medvedev’s blog, which is a clone of his Kremlin.ru blog set up last year, will have its user comments monitored tightly by the Kremlin.

Neave Barker, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Moscow, said the move is one of several made by Medvedev in recent weeks that appears to set him apart from Vladimir Putin, the prime minister and his predecessor. ”Medvedev’s on a mission present a more modern and measured leadership, but a number of his moves fail to complement the work of his predecessor Vladimir Putin, prompting talk of a split between president and prime minister,” he said.

‘Difference in style’

Earlier this month Medvedev granted an interview to Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper fiercely critical of the Kremlin and Putin, in which he called for greater transparency in Russia.

This week a judge’s decision to grant an early release for Svetlana Bakhmina, a former lawyer of the defunct Yukos oil company, also suggested a change in attitude to Putin era politics.

Human rights groups have welcomed these moves, but want more evidence there will be actions to back up the rhetoric.

Alison Gill, director Moscow’s Human Rights Watch office, told Al Jazeera: “We welcome some of his latest statements … but what we want to see are actions. Let’s evaluate what he does and let’s evaluate what the Kremlin actually does“.

Real power

Analysts are continuing to question the extent to which Medvedev is prepared to push democratic reform, and suggest the real power still belongs to Putin.

Masha Lipman, from the Carnegie Endowment Centre in Moscow, said Putin still appears to be the main decision maker.

“I think there is a difference in style between the two presidents and a difference in background,” she told Al Jazeera.”But I think Putin remains to this day the senior partner in the ruling tandem even though his office is inferior to Medvedev, according to the Russian constitution. I think he is the chief decision maker.“