RUSSIA: Ordinary Russians approve the surprise move by President Vladimir Putin to remain a key player on their country's political scene

Ordinary Russians approve the surprise move by President Vladimir Putin to remain a key player on their country's political scene. Russia's Communists say Putin's suggestion that he could become prime minister alters the political structure of the country. The leader of Russia's Communist party said on Tuesday (October 2) a surprise move by President Vladimir Putin to keep a grip on power had changed the political structure in the country, isolating some of the main political players and parties in Russia who have until now pledged support to the Russian leader. Gennady Zyuganov was speaking a day after Putin sprang another of his trademark surprises on Monday, accepting an offer from the country's biggest political party United Russia to head its slate for parliamentary polls in December and suggesting he might be a future prime minister. "Such a move changes the political system, the structure to be more exact. I don't know what Mr. Mironov (Sergei Mironov, leader of the pro-Putin Fair Russia party) is going to do now, who said before that he was supporting Putin, but was against United Russia. What will Zhirinovsky (Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party) do, who shouted the loudest in support of the president, but criticised everyone else. Therefore in reality, only two parties remain who can seriously go to the polls, it is United Russia and us." Zyuganov warned that Putin's strategy meant supreme power being vested in one man. "In the present situation, Putin has more power than the Pharaoh, the Russian Tsar, and the Soviet general secretary put together. Even more than a strong U.S. president has," he added. In a country hunting for clues about Putin's future after his second termin 2008, the president's words were seized on as solving the mystery of how he would stay in power without office. The constitution bars a third consecutive term. "Putin has once again shown his ability to change the country's political system without amending the Constitution," the financial daily Vedomosti said in an editorial comment. On the streets of Moscow on Tuesday, ten out of ten Russians questioned by Reuters Television said they approved of Putin's move and thought it presented their country with the best option for the future. "It is widely considered that Putin has done a lot during his time as president, and not only for Russia, but for the world as a whole," said Marina, a Moscow resident. For Andrey, another Muscovite, Putin's announcement offered the best possible option. "I think that in our time, this is the only possible solution, in order to follow the Russian constitution, and to present a good image; In this situation, Putin as a prime minister and him heading the United Russia ticket, is the best option for Russia," he said.

ITN Source | October 2, 2007

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