Russians think that President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have almost equal chances of becoming the next Kremlin chief after the 2012 presidential election, a survey by an independent pollster published on Wednesday said.
Medvedev, Putin's close ally, succeeded him as president in 2008. Both men, who are Russia's most popular politicians, have not ruled out running in the next presidential election, but gave no definite clues to their plans.
Asked by Levada Center in two separate questions what Medvedev and Putin are likely to be doing after the election, 36 percent of respondents said they expected the incumbent president to keep his job, while 39 percent said Putin will replace him.
The poll was conducted on March 19-23 among 1,600 Russians in 44 Russian regions. The error margin was less than 3.4%.
According to the survey, a larger proportion of men (41%), adults over 54 (45%), and people with higher education (41%) think it likely that Putin will serve another presidential term after the elections in 2012.
Medvedev was deemed more likely to keep his job by women (39%), 18-24 year-olds (40 %), people without higher education (40%), those on low incomes (40%) and village dwellers (42%).
Responses to respondents' preferences revealed a greater difference between the two politicians.
Thirty percent of respondents said Medvedev should keep his current post, while thirty eight percent said that Putin should take it.
The poll also asked respondents to comment on the country's current leadership. It emerged that 51% believe Medvedev and Putin share power equally. On the other hand, 66% of respondents said Medvedev's policies were controlled by Putin.
MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti)
