This a piece on the track that Russia may take if Putin's boy gets elected.



Russian President Vladimir Putin backed Dmitry Medvedev, a first deputy prime minister and chairman of state-run energy giant OAO Gazprom, as his successor this past week, virtually guaranteeing Mr. Medvedev will win presidential elections in March given Mr. Putin's popularity and strong grip on the Kremlin.

The world's attitude toward Russia has changed. We are not being treated like schoolchildren. People respect us and reckon with us."

The constitution bars Mr. Putin from serving a third consecutive presidential term, and he hasn't made clear whether he would continue to serve in some other capacity once his term is completed. But in October Mr. Putin described a proposal to become prime minister as "entirely realistic," and Mr. Medvedev suggested this week that Mr. Putin do so to ensure the government's continuity.


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Whatever it is they do we can expect more of the same. The only thing changing is the names.

Putin will retain his control from behind the presidency.


The architecture of Russia's future power system became visible Monday as a confident-looking Vladimir Putin told delegates at the pro-Kremlin United Russia party's convention that he will serve as prime minister if his longtime aide Dmitri Medvedev is elected to replace him as president next March.

"If the people give their trust to Dmitri Anatolyevich Medvedev and he is elected president, then I would be ready to continue my work as head of government," Mr. Putin said.

Putin, whose approval rating was nearly 90 percent last month, has long affirmed that he will step down as Russia's Constitution requires when his second term expires in March. It was he who first floated the idea of becoming prime minister when he agreed to head United Russia's ticket in the Dec. 2 parliamentary elections, in which the party won a majority.


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