Russian President Dmitry Medvedev highlighted on Friday three problems he said were inhibiting the development of democracy in Russia.
The first is the social turmoil of the mid-1990s, dubbed in the media as the "wild 90s," Medvedev told the Global Policy Forum in Yaroslavl.
"We often expect from democracy something that democracy isn't designed to provide. Such illusions prevailed in the 1990s when people were confusing democracy with the notion of affluence," the president said.
"It is only now that the situation is beginning to clear up," he said.
The second barrier is Russians' "inability to regard democracy in the full sense of the word," which would require them to "absorb it themselves and sense their connection with political processes."
Democracy is about taking responsibility for yourself and for your country, he added.
The third problem is the underdevelopment of many of the country's political institutions, Medvedev said.
"Our democracy is very young...our political institutions are underdeveloped, the party system has inherited many birthmarks from the Soviet system," he said.
While calling for gradual reform of the country's ailing political system, Medvedev lauded Russians for "mastering the main code of political culture" but said they should be more active towards the country's political processes and engage in "modernization" - a mantra he has pushed since becoming president in 2008.
YAROSLAVL, September 10 (RIA Novosti)
