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Protege Picked To Succeed Putin

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By PETER FINN, The Washington Post

Published: December 11, 2007

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he will support First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as president, ending years of speculation about his choice and all but ensuring his longtime associate and young protege will succeed him in the Kremlin next year.

"I have known him very closely for more than 17 years, and I completely and fully support this proposal," said Putin, speaking to the leaders of four political parties, including the ruling United Russia party, who said they would nominate Medvedev as their candidate.

Medvedev, 42, a lawyer by training who is also chairman of the energy giant Gazprom, is regarded as a relative liberal among the constellation of political factions in the Kremlin.

Unlike many in Putin's inner circle, he has no background in the KGB or the security services. He is believed to be open to constructive relations with the West and greater political pluralism at home.

Medvedev owes his entire political life to Putin, and the two are said to have a father-son relationship, according to Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Moscow-based Center for the Study of Elites.

"It's almost a monarchial succession," she said. "He nominated his 'adopted' son."

With the backing of his longtime sponsor, Medvedev, who has never been elected to any political office, will almost certainly coast to victory in the March 2 elections.

Medvedev, who is married with an 11-year-old son, taught law at the university until 1999, when Putin, then prime minister, brought him to Moscow as deputy head of the government administration.

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