MOSCOW - PRESIDENT Barack Obama appealed to the Russian people on Tuesday to join the United States in overcoming past differences and building a prosperous democratic future free of corruption and the threat of nuclear war.

Broadening his message of a 'reset' in relations between the two former Cold War superpowers on the second day of a visit to Moscow, Mr Obama said citizens, business people and companies all had a part to play in improving ties and boosting trade.

'America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia,' Mr Obama told students at Moscow's New Economic School. 'Look to the future that can be built if we refuse to be burdened by the old obstacles and old suspicions.'

Mr Obama was careful in his speech, billed by the White House as a major setpiece, to avoid direct criticism of the Kremlin, where he agreed on Monday an arms-cutting package and permission for US troops to cross Russia en route for Afghanistan.

Instead, Obama emphasised in his public appearances US ideals such as prosperity, democracy and the rule of law, sending a more nuanced message.

People everywhere should have the right to do business or get an education without paying a bribe,' Mr Obama said in his speech to students, making an oblique reference to Russia's ingrained culture of corruption.

The students, many skeptical of the United States after the chaos wrought by 'wild East' capitalism in the post-Soviet period, listened politely to Mr Obama in a hall near the Kremlin used mainly for official events but showed little enthusiasm.

Their reaction reflected a theme of Mr Obama's visit - a generally low-key reception by Russian media and ordinary citizens. Opinion polls show a majority of Russians mistrust the United States and believe it abuses its power.

'We are maybe the one country in the world where there is no Obamamania,' Sergei Markov, a parliamentary deputy from the ruling United Russia party, told reporters.

'For us he is not president of the world but the president of the United States of America.'

Later, at a summit with business leaders, Obama emphasised that a 'reset' in prickly Russia-US relations - the primary objective of his trip - needed to involve many more people than himself and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

'This can't just be a matter for two presidents,' he said. 'It has to go deeper. It has to be between our people.' -- REUTERS