RUSSIAN MPs have approved a law extending the presidential term from four to six years, in a move that could lead to the return of Vladimir Putin to the most powerful job in the land.
The government-backed bill swept through the lower house of parliament with an overwhelming majority, and with the pro-Kremlin United Russia party dominating both houses, it faces an almost unchallenged journey to the statute books.
The fact that
the bill is being fast-tracked through parliament has spawned avid speculation in Moscow that it could herald the return of Mr Putin.
The man who is now prime minister gave up the presidency in May because the constitution bars an individual from serving more than two consecutive terms, but many observers of the often opaque Kremlin world believe he still harbours a desire to return.
The lure of at least another six years as the country's leader, they argue, may be too hard for Mr Putin to resist, and many expect him to run for the presidency again at the end of Dmitry Medvedev's term of office.
Some analysts have gone as far as to say that Mr Medvedev, regarded by many as a Putin protégé, might even step down early to make way for his predecessor, who still enjoys widespread popularity in Russia and is credited with restoring some of the country's former glory.
Writing in the Moscow Times, Vladimir Ryzhkov, a former opposition MP, said Mr Putin, might use "pretexts such as the new constitution and the need to strengthen the state in the face of the crisis, (to] announce, through Medvedev, snap presidential and parliamentary elections as early as March or April."
The prospect of this has alarmed Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of the Communist Party, who heads the main opposition group in parliament. "He (the president] will have more power than the general secretary (of the Soviet Union], the tsar and the pharaoh all together," he said. "If tomorrow you choose the person who is controlled by no-one for a six-year term, it will be an even bigger tragedy and danger for the country than the economic crisis."
But Mr Medvedev has argued that presidents need more time in office if they are to push through the reforms Russia still needs.
"The office terms of supreme power, be it the president or the parliament, should first and foremost suit the interests of the country's development," he told the French newspaper Le Figaro.
Mr Putin pointed out that by extending the presidential term to six years, Russia would join a family of nations that includes Finland, while the French president serves a seven-year term.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the outspoken leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, added his weight to the bill, arguing that "four years is too little for our huge country".
Natalia Leshchenko, a Russia expert at Global Insight, said it was too early to speak of Mr Putin returning to the presidency. "If this is his intention, then he still has three and a half years to wait, and a lot can happen in that time," she said.
