On May 7th Prime Minister and President-elect Vladimir Putin will be sworn in to become president of the Russian Federation. Preparations for the inauguration ceremony slated for May 7th are coming to a close.

Throughout the week political analysts were busy commenting on the performance of the Medvedev-Putin tandem over the past four years. Experts say that despite the global crisis, Russia succeeded in maintaining political stability and economic growth and that the Russian government demonstrated high efficiency and “crisis resistance”. Despite the global recession, Russia has managed to keep its key industries afloat, launch a number of new health and education programs and increase social welfare benefits.

In spite of criticism from the opposition, Russia saw the formation of a middle class and set the stage for an innovation-based development. Vladimir Putin became personally involved in a number of projects and initiatives which were designed to diversify Russia's economy away from dependence on oil and gas towards highly advanced technology.

A few weeks ago Dmitry Medvedev initiated sweeping changes to the country’s political system. Medvedev suggested new regulations for electing members of parliament, introduced direct gubernatorial elections, and simplified the procedure of registering political parties.

Dmitry Medvedev says that one of his achievements as president was his success in protecting Russian citizens amid the global crisis.

"We have prevented the living standards from dropping to an alarming low. Despite the recession, we continue to create favourable conditions improving our citizens' living standards. This year, inflation is at a record low of 4% and the government’s priority is to ensure it continues to decrease. Unemployment was at about 6.5% in the first quarter, which is the same as four years ago, before the crisis. The rate of economic growth has reached a steady 4%."

On May 2nd Prime Minister Vladimir Putin presided at the last session of the current government. The candidacy of a new prime minister will be submitted on behalf of the president right after the inauguration. Putin nominated Medvedev. The new Cabinet will be formed in May. Medvedev has promised new appointments but keeps quite about the names. Vladimir Putin thanked his Cabinet for good work.

"I want to thank you all for being patient and for demonstrating maximum tact while dealing with problems. We respected one another despite the stressful nature of our work. It’s to your credit that we managed to prevent a repetition of the 1998 crisis. The anti-crisis package proposed by the government turned out to be effective. Unlike other countries, there are no signs of an economic collapse in Russia."

For Putin, premiership has proved to be a challenging job. For the first time in Russian history, there emerged a tandem of president and prime minister, Dmitry Abzalov of the Political Situation Center, says.

"Prior to that, Russia had either 'nominal' prime ministers, or those prime ministers who were too powerful and tried to assume presidential duties. All this changed radically in 2008 when ministers and deputy premiers were endowed with greater powers. Power was distributed on an equal basis between the president, its administration, the prime minister, and the government. Putin’s experience as prime minister will surely help him make his modernization and innovation policies more effective."

Putin’s inauguration ceremony on May 7th will be covered by several television channels. Moscow’s city and regional authorities have taken unprecedented security measures in connection with the event.