Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has backed a call by President Dmitry Medvedev to modernize Russia's economy during a speech in St. Petersburg. In opening remarks, Medvedev also went after political corruption. 

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has publically backed President Dmitry Medvedev's call for radical economic modernization, amid rumors of a clash between the two leaders.

During his state-of-the-nation address on November 12, Medvedev urged Russia to end its dependence on oil and gas exports and modernize the economy, which some analysts interpreted as a challenge to Putin.

"I am sure that this call reflects the mood of all of Russian society," Putin said in a keynote speech to the annual congress of the ruling United Russia party in St. Petersburg.

"The crisis, with all its severity, has shown how costly it is for a country to reject innovation, have low work productivity, waste resources and have a slow bureaucracy," Putin said.