MOSCOW (AP) – It might be a tale out of a 19th century Russian storybook: A clerkish young lawyer apprenticed to a powerful man rises, through Byzantine political intrigue, to become ruler of Russia.

But Dmitry Medvedev is not guaranteed a fairy tale ending.

The 42-year-old attorney, who has long served as an adviser, fixer and friend to Vladimir Putin, will be inaugurated as Russia’s president Wednesday. The ceremony will mark the start of three days of pomp and circumstance that will include Putin being named prime minister Thursday and the annual Victory Day parade Friday in Red Square.

Medvedev, the scholarly son of university professors, who has a taste for designer clothes and heavy metal music, becomes the leader of the world’s largest nation in geography, one of the richest in natural resources – and one of the most turbulent in terms of history.

In December, Putin picked Medvedev, then deputy prime minister, as his successor, even though he had never held elective office and has no political base of his own. The Kremlin dutifully engineered Medvedev’s election in March.

The 42-year-old – the youngest Russian leader in nearly a century – has repeatedly promised to strengthen the rule of law, tame Russia’s ferocious bureaucrats and reduce the role of the state in the economy.

All of these positions could be seen as implicit criticisms of Putin, who has presided over a growing bureaucracy, expanded the role of state enterprises and shackled the country’s political opposition.

To change Russia’s course, Medvedev would have to battle the entrenched interests of bureaucrats and top government officials, many of them veterans of the Soviet-era KGB and other security agencies.

“I think one thing is dead clear,” said Yevgenia Albats, a prominent commentator and radio show host. The double-headed state, she predicted, will inevitably lead to power struggles. “We have entered a period of profound instability in the country.”

Medvedev assumes the presidency at a time of rising expectations domestically and escalating tensions with NATO and the West.

Average wages rose eightfold during Putin’s eight years as president, from roughly $80 a month to $640, and GDP sixfold. A new middle class is buying foreign cars and taking exotic vacations on the Red Sea.

But Russia’s wealth rests on a narrow foundation: oil, gas, metal and timber.

Putin’s Kremlin has increasingly challenged the West, reviving such symbols of the Soviet past as strategic bomber patrols. On Friday, for the first time since the Soviet era, a major military parade through Red Square will include tanks and nuclear missile launchers.

Now, it will be up to Medvedev’s regime to tackle the nuts and bolts job of rebuilding Russia’s bloated and outdated military forces.

But Medvedev will inherit only a portion of his predecessor’s power.

Putin already has expanded the premier’s staff and responsibilities. And he heads United Russia, the dominant party, giving him direct control of parliament and regional political leadership.

The division of Russia’s executive creates problems. It not only raises the possibility of power struggles between loyalists of the president and prime minister – it also makes it trickier for Medvedev to do what Putin did: claim credit for successes while blaming prime ministers for failures.

Medvedev has for most of his career worked hard to implement Putin’s goals. Even as chairman of Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled natural gas and energy giant, he essentially was seen as someone who didn’t give orders but carried them out.

But Medvedev has rejected suggestions he will be Prime Minister Putin’s junior.

“It is the president who sets out the main directions of domestic and foreign policy,” he told Britain’s Financial Times in March. “He’s the commander in chief, he makes key decisions on forming the executive. He’s the guarantor of rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.”

The lawyer – so long a servant to the ambitions of Putin – now seems to have ambitions of his own.

He wants to be president, and not just a figurehead, said Dmitry Trenin of the Moscow Carnegie Center. “Whether he can become a full-fledged president is not clear to the rest of us.”

There are parts of the job he clearly loves – news conferences, photos ops and dinners with global leaders.

As for Putin, there are some signs he may have grown disenchanted with the routine and is looking for an exit.The stern former KGB man appears most enthusiastic on the ski slopes or when hobnobbing with jet-setters such as Prince Albert II of Monaco and movie stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Even if Medvedev manages to claim all of the president’s powers under the constitution, he could remain the cautious lawyer, seek incremental reforms at the margins and avoid confrontation with powerful potential foes.

If so, Russia may be entering a period when the presidency is largely ceremonial, celebrated with czarist pomp on television – but ignored by most Russians.

“It’s hard to say whether we are going to have a new president, or a puppet president,” Albats said.