Russia’s voters are expected to endorse Vladimir Putin’s choice of a successor in Sunday’s presidential election, allowing Putin to retain a measure of power in his nation whose wealth and global voice have grown even as democratic freedoms diminished.

Dmitry Medvedev, a 42-year-old lawyer and loyal Kremlin aide, is expected to take over from Putin, whose eight years as president have left a deep imprint on the world’s largest country. Medvedev has said he would offer Putin the prime minister’s post. “I’m in a good mood. Spring is here,” Medvedev said as he cast his ballot in Moscow, where rain and wet snow sprinkled the streets. “The season has changed.”

Some voters complained of pressure to cast ballots in his favour, and critics called the election a cynical stageshow. Few international observers were on hand to monitor the voting. Two election day bomb explosions targeting a police convoy near Chechnya served as a reminder of the tensions around the once-breakaway republic, one of the challenges the next president will face. Some 450,000 police and troops deployed nationwide to ensure the voting proceeded calmly.

If Medvedev wins, the world community will be watching closely to see how he and Putin share power. Some in the West have welcomed Medvedev’s reputation as a moderate after years of tense ties with Putin over his crackdown on domestic dissent, US plans for a missile defence and Kosovo’s independence, among other things.

Analysts predict, though, that Medvedev could face opposition from Kremlin insiders hostile to the West. Though he has never held elected office, Medvedev has had an easy ride toward the presidency. Polls predict he will take a solid majority of votes, against the three other candidates: Communist Gennady Zyuganov, flamboyant ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the relatively unknown Andrei Bogdanov of the Democratic Party.

... contd.