Kremlin moves give Russia choice ahead of polls

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin's decision to promote a key ally will create some competition between Kremlin-approved candidates ahead of the 2008 presidential election, political commentators said today.

Russia-watchers have so far treated sceptically assurances by Putin, who dominates the political landscape, that he would not use the March 2008 polls to install a hand-picked successor.

But yesterday Putin named Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov as a new first deputy prime minister, giving him equal rank with another ally, Dmitry Medvedev, so far widely seen as the leading candidate for the heir apparent's role.

''It looks like Putin is putting in action his own solution to the 2008 problem,'' the pro-government Izvestia daily wrote.

''He has said there will be no single hand-picked successor and that Russians will have to choose between several equal candidates,'' it added.

''The emergence of two first deputy premiers -- Ivanov and Medvedev -- fully matches such logic.'' Some commentators say Putin is unlikely to leave the two to freely compete in the polls but will allow them to spar this year before making his preference clear.

Dmitry Oreshkin, head of the Mercator think-tank, said: ''Medvedev now faces a challenger whom he will have to fight in the informal competition for Putin's support''.

Putin has presided over seven years of strong economic growth and political stability during his two terms in office. The Russian constitution forbids a third consecutive term and the president has repeatedly said he will respect the law.

Putin is by far Russia's most popular politician, although pollsters say his popularity is more a comment on the lack of viable alternatives, following a crackdown on opposition.

Ivanov's nomination, however, indicated the Kremlin leader wanted to encourage competition within his entourage for the succession, analysts said.

''(The nomination) shows the broadening of a collective leadership, which can carry on with Putin's course and lift concerns about how the succession is assured,'' Gleb Pavlovsky, an analyst close to the Kremlin, told Interfax news agency.

SOME CHOICE Both men are unlikely to deviate far from their mentor's course but their positions are not identical.

Medvedev, chairman of Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom, said in a keynote speech last month to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that he viewed Russia as part of the European community, shared democratic values and favoured only limited government involvement in the economy.

Ivanov belongs to a more hawkish segment of Putin's entourage, known as the siloviki, who focus more on Russia's revival as a global force and a military power, a concept increasingly popular among Russians.

Ivanov's promotion came days after Putin accused the United States of seeking to dominate the world in his address to an international security conference in Munich.

''By raising Ivanov's status, Putin stressed the priority importance of defence and security, something he spoke about in Munich,'' Pavlovsky said.

The Kommersant daily said Ivanov's promotion could be the first in a series of nominations and could bring to the surface new powerful players like Putin's old ally Dmitry Kozak.

Sergei Naryshkin, the head of the government's staff promoted on Monday to deputy prime minister in charge of foreign trade and relations with ex-Soviet neighbours, was listed by some media as an example of significant new promotions.

REUTERS PDM PM1915