President Vladimir Putin's successor, Dmitry Medvedev, has been inaugurated in the Kremlin with pomp, circumstance, and prayers from Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church - which has paid tribute to the new national leader.

Russia's president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor, can count on support from his country's religious organizations which have congratulated him after his landslide victory in the recent elections.