Analysis
By Steve Rosenberg BBC Moscow correspondent

When Vladimir Putin spoke on Thursday in the Marble Hall of the Kremlin, it was like watching a doctor discussing the health of his patient.

He painted an image of a Russia doubled up with bureucracy - clogged with corruption.

Putin: What he wants, he ususally gets

A Russia which has built up a strong resistance to change.

A Russia badly in need of a fresh dose of reform to strengthen the economy and speeed the nation's recovery.

A Russia threatened by the cancer of extremism.

Listening in to this sobering diagnosis were 900 guests, among them members of parliament and religious chiefs.

They sat in silence, stood briefly for the national anthem and then filed out. But what of the patient?

What hope that Russia's condition will improve after Vladimir Putin's speech?

Kremlin control

That depends very much on Mr Putin himself - and how tough he is prepared to be in administering his own medicine.

Across this vast land there is an army of bureaucrats and petty officials out to sabotage reform

With both houses of parliament under the de facto control of the Kremlin, the passage of new laws has never been so easy for the president.

In parliament today it is usually a case of what Putin wants - Putin gets. But laws have to be implemented. And it is here that the president's problems begin.

Army of bureaucrats

Across this vast land there is an army of bureaucrats and petty officials out to sabotage reform. These are people who stand to lose their jobs, their livelihoods in a modern Russia free of corruption.

His speech contained no timetable for restructuring the country's banking sector, or for comprehesive land reform

Mr Putin admitted the problem in his speech today. He is complaining that many of the laws already passed are simply ignored in the regions.

If the Russian president is to revitalise Russia, he must first cut through those thick walls of red tape.

Even if the bureaucracy is beaten, it is still unclear just how far Mr Putin himself is prepared to go in transforming this country.

No timetable

His speech may have called for a speeding up of reform but it contained no timetable for restructuring the country's banking sector, or for comprehesive land reform - changes which are key to modernising the county.

Even with an approval rating topping 70%, Mr Putin may be unwilling to risk denting his popularity with too many reforms too soon.

Meanwhile, the patient limps on. Economic growth in Russia is slowing. The value of the rouble slipping. But there is still a chance of a full recovery - if the treatment is given in time.