Campaigning starts in Russian election

Campaigning officially started yesterday in the Russian presidential election, but Vladimir Putin's chosen successor has said he is too busy working to canvass for votes.

Last year the popular Putin said he wanted First deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to follow him as president. Since then the state media has given Medvedev blanket coverage and pollsters say he will win at least 70 per cent of the vote.

Medvedev has declined to take part in televised debates against three other election contenders because he said he is too busy and has instead presented himself as a hard-working public servant.

Medvedev, 42, stuck to this carefully crafted image in the southern city of Volgograd yesterday.

"Unemployment fell by about five per cent. Many positive tendencies are becoming evident and we can say that the republic is developing," he said, answering a question from reporters on the war-ruined republic of Chechnya.

As during other recent appearances, Medvedev, wearing a blue blazer and black roll-neck shirt, made no major policy statements.

Medvedev's nearest rival, veteran Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, has lost two previous presidential elections and is shown getting 12 per cent of the vote. The other two candidates are even less of a threat.

Earlier yesterday, Medvedev laid flowers at a memorial in Volgograd recognising the Soviet Union's victory over the Nazis at the battle of Stalingrad - Volgograd's former name - one of the bloodiest and longest battles in World War II.

Part of the explanation for Medvedev's high ratings is that an eight-year economic boom under Putin has made many Russians better off. Few want to rock the boat and risk a return to the turbulent 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As in December's parliamentary election, state media are giving generous coverage to the Kremlin's man and minimal air time to opponents.

Once again opposition candidates are crying foul, saying Medvedev - a long-time close Putin ally - enjoys huge government support and resources which they cannot match.

With such a predictable result in prospect, the campaign has so far aroused little passion and even less debate.

There is a widespread expectation that Medvedev's election will make little difference because Putin, barred from seeking a third term by the constitution, will go on pulling the strings.

Putin, 55, has already said he wants to retain influence and plans to become Medvedev's prime minister, though some suspect he may have bigger plans after that.

The absence of opposition candidates who might have packed more punch in the campaign has also helped Medvedev.

Former chess champion and leading opposition figure Garry Kasparov decided not to take part. Former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky were both disqualified by election authorities.

Medvedev's campaign managers said this week their candidate would not take part in any televised debates, robbing opponents of their best potential chance of publicity.

So far Medvedev has made a series of appearances touring provincial Russian towns, often in the company of Putin. He has said he stands for continuity of the existing Kremlin line.

That stance is likely to play well with voters, more than half of whom told pollsters in December they would vote for whoever Putin chose.

Given the lack of excitement in the campaign, commentators have chosen instead to focus on intrigue in the Kremlin.

Most have described Medvedev as coming from the Kremlin's liberal wing and have forecast that disappointed hardliners may try to fight back unless Putin holds the ring.

"There is no doubt there is a non-stop under-the-carpet struggle being waged in the Kremlin now with (hardliners) trying to attack the group associated with Dmitry Medvedev," said Dmitry Oreshkin, head of independent think-tank Mercator.