Putin, Medvedev say win for Kremlin's candidate means continuity in Russia
1:00 AM
Posted: Monday, March 03, 2008
MOSCOW (AP) -- With presidential election results signaling a landslide victory, Dmitry Medvedev could have made a triumphant solo appearance Sunday.
But when he took the stage before 35,000 cheering people at a rainy Red Square, Vladimir Putin was right next to him -- Russia's widely popular president alongside his hand-picked successor.
Their appearance together didn't just underline their close ties. It illustrated the one central question not already answered in an election that was never in doubt: How independent will Medvedev be once he is inaugurated May 7 and Putin becomes his prime minister as expected?
With ballots from 80 percent of the precincts counted, Medvedev had more than 69 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission. Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov had 18 percent, it said.
Medvedev was on course to win about 70 percent of the vote, according to a poll by the All-Russia Opinion Research Center, or VTsIOM.
He is expected to rule in concert with his mentor, an arrangement that could see Putin calling the shots despite his constitutionally subordinate position as Russia's prime minister.
Medvedev appeared to try to head off speculation about who would be in charge when he was asked in a news conference whether the president or prime minister would set foreign policy.
"By the constitution, the president determines foreign policy," he responded.
Medvedev, 42, the youngest Russian ruler since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, is expected to heed Putin's advice, continue his assertive course with the West, maintain state control over Russia's mineral riches and freeze out real opposition movements.
"We will increase stability, improve the quality of life and move forward on the path we have chosen," Medvedev said in the Red Square appearance. "We will be able to preserve the course of President Putin."
Putin congratulated his protege and said the victory "carries a lot of obligations."
"This victory will serve as a guarantee that the course we have chosen, the successful course we have been following over the past eight years, will be continued," Putin said.
Medvedev ran against three rivals apparently permitted on the ballot because of their loyalty to the Kremlin line. But the two candidates -- Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky -- still alleged violations after the voting ended.
Zyuganov said he would dispute the result, and Zhirinovsky threatened to do so as well, before backing down.
Some voters complained of pressure to cast ballots for Medvedev, and critics called the election a cynical stage show to ensure unbroken rule by Putin and his allies.
Sunday's vote came after a tightly controlled campaign and months of political maneuvering by Putin, who appeared determined to keep a strong hand on Russia's reins while maintaining while maintaining the basic trappings of electoral democracy and leaving the constitution intact.
Russia had two rulers -- a diarchy -- in the 17th century, when the first Romanov czar, Mikhail, served along with his father, Patriarch Filaret. In the early 1920s, Josef Stalin briefly shared power with Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik leader and founder of the Soviet state.
Putin has already shown signs of discomfort with his new role as subordinate to his protege.
When a reporter at his last news conference in February asked him whether he would put the new president's portrait on his office wall, Putin answered dryly that he doesn't need to make such displays of loyalty.
The first test could be the July summit of Group of Eight leading industrialized nations: If Putin goes alone or accompanies Medvedev, that could signal his reluctance to relinquish control.
Some officials who know Medvedev say privately that he is tougher than his appearance and demeanor may suggest and could show more resolve after his inauguration.
Medvedev has taken a liberal and pro-business posture during the campaign, avoiding Putin's harsh anti-Western rhetoric. But critics point that he helped engineer Putin's crackdown on political and media freedoms as one-time Kremlin chief of staff.
He also spearheaded the Kremlin's concept of making Russia an "energy superpower" as chairman of Gazprom state gas monopoly, strong-arming former Soviet neighbors and expanding Russia's control of Europe's energy supplies. Medvedev's landslide victory would give him the stature to defy Putin, in case of any potential rift with his mentor.
While most expect Medvedev to play second fiddle to Putin, the vast powers of the Russian presidency may tempt him to step out of his mentor's shadow.
Russian history shows that rulers often like to get rid of those who backed their ascent to power. Boris Berezovsky, who backed Putin's rise to power, fled abroad to escape money-laundering charges several months after his election.
Medvedev is the first Russian leader to succeed his predecessor according to a constitutional timetable; Putin became acting president first after Russia's first President Boris Yeltsin stepped down early, and only later won election.
But Medvedev's election was not a wide-open contest, either.
Liberal opposition leaders Garry Kasparov and Mikhail Kasyanov were barred from running on technicalities, and voters across Russia say they were being urged, cajoled and pressured to vote in an effort to ensure that Medvedev scored a major victory.
Kasparov held his own protest against the election Sunday near Red Square. Escorted by a dozen riot police, he carried a plastic shopping bag that read: "I am not participating in this farce."
Polling stations offered enticements to voters: discounted food, office supplies, tickets to concerts. The enticements echoed the practices of the Soviet era, when hard-to-get items were available during carefully staged elections.
In a post-Soviet touch, some polling stations were set up in shopping malls.
The head of an independent Russian election monitoring group, Golos, said her organization was receiving a steady stream of complaints and reports of irregularities, including blatant attempts to influence voters and voters being "bought off."
"Most of problems appear to be occurring at the local level" in the provinces, where there is little scrutiny, Liliya Shabanova said.
Sofia, 25, a history teacher in a school in southwestern Moscow, said the principal required her and her colleagues to cast ballots at a polling station at the school.
"This is terrible; they are not leaving us any choice," said Sofia, who declined to give her last name out of fear of losing her job. She said she destroyed her ballot in protest.
But when he took the stage before 35,000 cheering people at a rainy Red Square, Vladimir Putin was right next to him -- Russia's widely popular president alongside his hand-picked successor.
Their appearance together didn't just underline their close ties. It illustrated the one central question not already answered in an election that was never in doubt: How independent will Medvedev be once he is inaugurated May 7 and Putin becomes his prime minister as expected?
With ballots from 80 percent of the precincts counted, Medvedev had more than 69 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission. Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov had 18 percent, it said.
Medvedev was on course to win about 70 percent of the vote, according to a poll by the All-Russia Opinion Research Center, or VTsIOM.
He is expected to rule in concert with his mentor, an arrangement that could see Putin calling the shots despite his constitutionally subordinate position as Russia's prime minister.
Medvedev appeared to try to head off speculation about who would be in charge when he was asked in a news conference whether the president or prime minister would set foreign policy.
"By the constitution, the president determines foreign policy," he responded.
Medvedev, 42, the youngest Russian ruler since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, is expected to heed Putin's advice, continue his assertive course with the West, maintain state control over Russia's mineral riches and freeze out real opposition movements.
"We will increase stability, improve the quality of life and move forward on the path we have chosen," Medvedev said in the Red Square appearance. "We will be able to preserve the course of President Putin."
Putin congratulated his protege and said the victory "carries a lot of obligations."
"This victory will serve as a guarantee that the course we have chosen, the successful course we have been following over the past eight years, will be continued," Putin said.
Medvedev ran against three rivals apparently permitted on the ballot because of their loyalty to the Kremlin line. But the two candidates -- Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky -- still alleged violations after the voting ended.
Zyuganov said he would dispute the result, and Zhirinovsky threatened to do so as well, before backing down.
Some voters complained of pressure to cast ballots for Medvedev, and critics called the election a cynical stage show to ensure unbroken rule by Putin and his allies.
Sunday's vote came after a tightly controlled campaign and months of political maneuvering by Putin, who appeared determined to keep a strong hand on Russia's reins while maintaining while maintaining the basic trappings of electoral democracy and leaving the constitution intact.
Russia had two rulers -- a diarchy -- in the 17th century, when the first Romanov czar, Mikhail, served along with his father, Patriarch Filaret. In the early 1920s, Josef Stalin briefly shared power with Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik leader and founder of the Soviet state.
Putin has already shown signs of discomfort with his new role as subordinate to his protege.
When a reporter at his last news conference in February asked him whether he would put the new president's portrait on his office wall, Putin answered dryly that he doesn't need to make such displays of loyalty.
The first test could be the July summit of Group of Eight leading industrialized nations: If Putin goes alone or accompanies Medvedev, that could signal his reluctance to relinquish control.
Some officials who know Medvedev say privately that he is tougher than his appearance and demeanor may suggest and could show more resolve after his inauguration.
Medvedev has taken a liberal and pro-business posture during the campaign, avoiding Putin's harsh anti-Western rhetoric. But critics point that he helped engineer Putin's crackdown on political and media freedoms as one-time Kremlin chief of staff.
He also spearheaded the Kremlin's concept of making Russia an "energy superpower" as chairman of Gazprom state gas monopoly, strong-arming former Soviet neighbors and expanding Russia's control of Europe's energy supplies. Medvedev's landslide victory would give him the stature to defy Putin, in case of any potential rift with his mentor.
While most expect Medvedev to play second fiddle to Putin, the vast powers of the Russian presidency may tempt him to step out of his mentor's shadow.
Russian history shows that rulers often like to get rid of those who backed their ascent to power. Boris Berezovsky, who backed Putin's rise to power, fled abroad to escape money-laundering charges several months after his election.
Medvedev is the first Russian leader to succeed his predecessor according to a constitutional timetable; Putin became acting president first after Russia's first President Boris Yeltsin stepped down early, and only later won election.
But Medvedev's election was not a wide-open contest, either.
Liberal opposition leaders Garry Kasparov and Mikhail Kasyanov were barred from running on technicalities, and voters across Russia say they were being urged, cajoled and pressured to vote in an effort to ensure that Medvedev scored a major victory.
Kasparov held his own protest against the election Sunday near Red Square. Escorted by a dozen riot police, he carried a plastic shopping bag that read: "I am not participating in this farce."
Polling stations offered enticements to voters: discounted food, office supplies, tickets to concerts. The enticements echoed the practices of the Soviet era, when hard-to-get items were available during carefully staged elections.
In a post-Soviet touch, some polling stations were set up in shopping malls.
The head of an independent Russian election monitoring group, Golos, said her organization was receiving a steady stream of complaints and reports of irregularities, including blatant attempts to influence voters and voters being "bought off."
"Most of problems appear to be occurring at the local level" in the provinces, where there is little scrutiny, Liliya Shabanova said.
Sofia, 25, a history teacher in a school in southwestern Moscow, said the principal required her and her colleagues to cast ballots at a polling station at the school.
"This is terrible; they are not leaving us any choice," said Sofia, who declined to give her last name out of fear of losing her job. She said she destroyed her ballot in protest.
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