He entered office pledging careful reforms, but midway through his term, critics suggest that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's true agenda may be to act as a placeholder for Vladimir Putin's return to power. Despite nearly two years in office, analysts see little evidence of Medvedev fulfilling his promises to liberalize Russia's political system, modernize its oil-driven economy, combat corruption, and uphold the rule of law. Opposition leaders labeled the recent local elections in October as the most corrupt in Russia's history. NGOs and business leaders report that corruption remains rampant, if not worse. Regional leaders with ties to the Kremlin, accused of misconduct, have been re-appointed. Reports of police and court power abuses are frequent. According to Vladimir Ryzhkov, former independent deputy in the Russian parliament, President Medvedev has shown little interest in true reform, instead opting for minor changes to give the appearance of progress. The Kremlin has stated that detailed information on Medvedev's achievements will be released in May, but is not available at this time. Medvedev's spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, has mentioned that the president's focus for the year includes political system reforms, improving the investment climate, addressing issues in the North Caucasus, and negotiating a nuclear arms pact with the United States. An analysis by the Interfax news agency noted that state-run media has been trying to enhance the president's image, with more references to Medvedev than to Putin in Russian media last year. However, pollsters argue that Putin's popularity among ordinary people has been boosted by the economic growth and stability during his presidency from 2000 to 2008. This popularity has continued during Putin's current role as prime minister. Additionally, Russia's elite also holds Putin in higher regard, as evidenced by Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov's recent interview with Reuters where he praised Putin as a "very strong leader of world stature". He did not mention Medvedev. Western powers had hoped that Medvedev would be more cooperative than Putin, but those hopes were dashed when Medvedev led Russia into a conflict with Georgia in 2008. Despite expectations that Russia would join the World Trade Organisation, sign a nuclear arms reduction agreement with the US, and support sanctions against Iran, Putin, not Medvedev, had the final say in each decision. This demonstrates the true power dynamics within Russia's ruling "tandem". Officials from the Kremlin and the White House (Putin's prime ministerial offices) publicly state that the "tandem" is a productive working relationship between two equals who respect each other's areas of expertise as outlined in the constitution. For example, Medvedev recently called a meeting to discuss reforms to Russia's political system, which critics compare to the Soviet-era Communist Party due to the dominance of the Kremlin's United Russia bloc. However, Putin had the final say, emphasizing the importance of careful consideration and caution in making changes to the political system to avoid instability. According to a senior diplomat, Putin's message was straightforward: there will be no significant political changes in Russia. Investors are also aware of where the power lies. When asked about the potential reaction of Russian markets to Medvedev leaving, a chief strategist at a Moscow bank stated that it would not have much impact. However, when asked about Putin leaving, the response was that it would cause chaos. However, the frequent discrepancies in public demeanor between Putin and Medvedev have caused some observers of Russia to speculate about conflicts between them, or even to propose that a power struggle may be unfolding within the ruling class. Supporters of Medvedev are particularly eager to propagate this idea in order to enhance his image as a reformer, according to diplomats. According to this narrative, Medvedev's apparent lack of progress in implementing reforms is attributed to his cautious approach so as not to antagonize Putin. Supporters of the president argue that Medvedev will eventually take more assertive actions, although many insiders refute this notion. Opposition journalist Yulia Latynina has argued that a power struggle between Putin, who holds all the power, and Medvedev, who has none, is impossible. Sceptics also believe that Medvedev, who has worked closely with Putin for 19 years, is unlikely to have a hidden reform agenda from his boss, a former KGB spy. Many informed commentators predict that Putin will likely return to the presidency in 2012, taking advantage of a constitutional reform that extends the next Kremlin chief's term to six years, which is the most significant political reform enacted by Medvedev. If re-elected, Putin could remain in office until 2024. Olga Kryshtanovskaya, an expert on the Russian elite and member of United Russia, stated that Putin is more popular and trusted than Medvedev. "I recently returned from a journey to the provinces, where the prevailing belief is that Putin will return in 2012. I also hold this belief, as Putin has greater resources and support."