Medvedev sworn in as Russia's president, but will he rule-

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The new premier is expected to have increased authority over governors and regional leaders. According to Russian press reports, Putin will have 11 deputies compared to the five who served his predecessor, Viktor Zubkov.

In addition, many analysts expect Medvedev to defer to Putin, his longtime mentor, on important decisions at least during Medvedev's first few months in office.

Putin has vowed to remain prime minister as long as he is needed. There is speculation he sees the job as a transitional post, with some expecting him to retire from politics but other predicting he will someday return to the presidency. Term limits required him to give up that post after two consecutive terms.

Several times, Putin loyalists pleaded with him to support a change in the constitution that would permit him to remain president. But he rejected those entreaties, saying he would respect the constitution he inherited.

"Eight years ago when I was sworn in as Russian president for the first time, I pledged to work openly and honestly, to loyally serve the people and the state," he said during the inauguration ceremony. "I did not break my pledge!"

Russia's major television networks broadcast live coverage of the transfer of power, which featured goose-stepping young guards resplendent in blue uniforms and high-peaked caps and a 30-gun salute by a battery near the high Kremlin walls.

Despite the martial overtones, the ceremony marked a rare constitutional succession in a country where changes in leadership have often resulted from illness, political unrest or violence.

Shortly after noon, Medvedev strode up a red carpet and took the oath of office. The brief statement included a pledge "to protect the rights and liberties of every citizen."

Later in a speech, Medvedev declared that "human rights and freedoms ... are deemed of the highest value for our society and they determine the meaning and content of all state activity."

The new president, who worked as Putin's assistant in St. Petersburg City Hall in the 1990s, inherits a robust economy that has experienced a decade of rapid growth thanks to high world prices for Russia's oil, natural gas and other commodities.

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