Russia's Medvedev asserts authority ahead of vote

Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister and presidential candidate Dmitry Medvedev speaks to supporters in the Volga city of Nizhny Novgorod February 27, 2008.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia (Reuters) - Russia's Dmitry Medvedev lashed out at the United States on Wednesday as he sought to assert his authority at home and abroad three days before a presidential election he is almost certain to win.

Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's favoured successor, is forecast to win Sunday's election easily, though Putin has said he will retain influence as a future prime minister.

A softly-spoken former lawyer who has spent years in Putin's shadow, Medvedev has displayed flashes of steel as his campaign nears its climax, possibly calculated to show he will be as assertive as Putin in standing up for Russia on the world stage.

In his most strident attack to date on the United States, Medvedev accused Washington of inciting strife in Europe by backing Kosovo's independence.

"They are putting Europe in a very difficult position ... we understand that America is risking nothing, it is far away," Medvedev said on a visit to the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.

"The saddest thing ... is that the stability and security of the whole region are being put under threat. All you have to do is put a match to it and the whole thing will catch fire."

Opinion polls predict Medvedev will win at least 70 percent of the vote on Sunday while his nearest rivals trail far behind. Critics accuse the Kremlin of slanting the campaign by giving its candidate blanket coverage on state television.

"We have many problems that have not been resolved. The country must move forward," Medvedev said in an address broadcast on state television.

"For that we need political stability, for that we need every day to improve peoples' lives, to develop the economy, reliably protect Russia's sovereignty and defend the rights of our citizens."

HARD ACT TO FOLLOW

Medvedev has a hard act to follow after Putin, 55, centralised power in the Kremlin and presided over the longest Russian economic boom for a generation.

How well Medvedev can impose his authority -- even on Prime Minister Putin -- will be key to stability, investors say.

Medvedev's low-key style contrasts sharply with Putin, a former KGB spy who regularly slams the West and often castigates subordinates in public.

But a different Medvedev emerged during a visit to the Ural mountains region of Bashkortostan on Tuesday.

When noise from an open door hindered him from speaking to reporters he snapped at bodyguards: "Eh, you, shut that door, now."

Medvedev has said he and Putin will complement each other and offered reassurances there will not be conflict.

"I hope that if we continue to work in that set-up, together, this will bring certain benefits to our state," he said on Wednesday.

"For me of course this is a high honour and challenge ... I hope that such emotions are felt also by our president."