Putin Says He Will Run For Parliament

MOSCOW, Oct. 1 — President Vladimir V. Putin announced today that he would be the leading candidate on the list of Russias dominant political party in parliamentary elections in December, and said he might become the countrys prime minister next year.

President Vladimir Putin today at a congress of the United Russia party in Moscow.

The announcement, made by Mr. Putin at the eighth congress of the intensely pro-Putin United Russia party, appeared to offer fresh insights into the tantalizing issue currently surrounding the Kremlin and Russian political affairs: the precise intentions of Russias president, who is barred by the Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term when his current term expires in 2008.

Mr. Putins statements strongly suggest what most analysts had already assumed — that he plans to maintain a hold on much of the power he has accrued during his eight years in the Kremlin, a period during which Russias economy and international influence have expanded and many Russians have seen their living conditions improve.

A State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, was reluctant to interpret Mr. Putins move. Look, Mr. Casey said, to the extent that hes doing this in the context of the laws of Russia, then certainly thats his choice and his partys choice.

Mr. Putins announcement was at once consistent and surprising. The Russian president, who is popular among Russias citizens and has a centralized lock on his government, has often said he intends to remain involved in politics beyond his second term, and even that he might seek re-election after another president holds the office.

But he had not previously suggested a new political office for himself immediately after the presidential election next March, as he did today when he said he could become Russias next premier.

Heading the government is quite a realistic proposal, he said, before adding a qualifier he often uses when publicly discussing his plans for 2008: But it is too early to think about that.

The prime ministers position in Russia is often viewed as a step toward the presidency; Mr. Putin himself was briefly the premier under President Boris N. Yeltsin before swiftly rising to the seat of power.

Last month Mr. Putin abruptly appointed Viktor A. Zubkov, a confidant of little prior prominence, to the premiers post. He then hinted that Mr. Zubkov could succeed him as the president. The presidents remarks then and today, taken together, suggested that when his term expires he might step one rung down the governments ladder — and then back up.

Mr. Putins latest speech also accompanied his acceptance of a new type of prominence: as the symbolic head of Russias dominant political party, United Russia. The party unfailingly supports the Kremlin and Mr. Putin, although the president has never joined it and did not join it today.

By accepting the position at the head of the partys candidate list, Mr. Putin instantaneously lent the party his vast domestic political stature, and probably the resources of the Russian government, to its efforts to extend its dominance in Russias 450-seat Duma, the lower house of Parliament.

The party had appeared already to bank on its close relationship with Mr. Putin. Its slogan for the parliamentary campaign, even before Mr. Putin agreed to be on the party list, was Putins Plan: Russias Victory.

The party currently holds a strong majority of the Dumas seats. Its leadership said today that Mr. Putins new public support guaranteed it an unconditional victory in the next round of elections, scheduled for Dec. 2.

The small remaining opposition conceded as much soon after the presidents remarks were broadcast on national television. Grigory A. Yavlinsky, head of the opposition Yabloko party, said on the Ekho Moskvy radio station that the days events were further proof of a one-party system in Russia.

Mr. Casey said that American officials would be watching the Russian elections closely to see whether they are free, fair and transparent. But certainly to the extent that hes doing this within the context and limits of Russian law and Russias legal system, Mr. Casey said, it was certainly his choice to make.

Whether Mr. Putin can serve in Parliament and as president simultaneously is an open question. Russias constitution and electoral law allow parties to nominate candidates for the legislature who are not party members, but Russias constitution also requires a separation of powers as one of its fundamental principles.

However, Maya Grishina, a member of the federal Central Election Commission, told the official RIA-Novosti news agency that the head of the state is not banned to nominate his candidacy at any election, including the parliamentary election. Along with this he can still carry out his duties. The law doesnt contain any restrictions on this.

Gleb O. Pavlovsky, a political scientist who leads a policy organization closely connected with the Kremlin, said that Mr. Putin would give his name to the party as an electoral locomotive, but would not actually seek a seat in the Parliament after the results were tallied in December.

Instead, Mr. Pavlovsky said, Mr. Putin had identified the party and the parliamentary campaign as another possible base of power after he leaves office.

The party may become his main tool after the end of his presidency, he said by telephone. The new president wont be able to appoint a prime minister without the support of the party leader.

One senior Western diplomat also proposed the idea that the latest public remarks were in part a charade and that Mr. Putin, fearful of betrayal or a loss of influence in the Kremlins mercurial inner sanctum, may yet reverse his course and decide to serve a third consecutive term despite the constitutional prohibition.

I think what is clear, one way or the other, is that he is setting up a parallel structure, the diplomat said by telephone. But in the end he may ditch it all and decide to stay.

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