Many commentators have been wondering in recent times exactly how the President plans to realise the reforms of the ‘Go Russia’ ilk.  One can look at Macha Lipman on the issue of re-Stalinisation in the Washington Post today for a recent example, who laments the gap between Presidential rhetoric and reality, or the Alexander Golts op-ed in today’s Moscow Times which questions how the President will be able to oversee his desired upgrading of Russia’s superannuated military.  RFE/RL has this report on one potential path the President has been advised to take if he wishes to see talk turn into action:

An influential think tank is advising President Dmitry Medvedev that he needs to establish an alternative power structure answerable only to him in order to reach his goal of modernizing Russia.

In a report for Medvedev, the Institute for Contemporary Development concludes that it will be impossible for the president to carry out any meaningful changes as long as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s siloviki cronies remain in key administrative posts. But attempting to dismantle Putin’s vaunted power vertical would be difficult (if not impossible) and destabilizing at this point.

So the institute is advising that Medvedev set up his own personal power vertical.