23:14 02/08/2010 RIA Novosti. Mikhail Klementiev

SOCHI, August 2, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he does not want to compete with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the 2012 presidential elections.

"I do not want to see a power struggle; it would be bad for Russia," Medvedev said.

He said he had no idea who might run for the presidential elections.

"It might be Medvedev, it might be Putin, and it might be someone else entirely," the president said.

He said whoever runs for the election should be aiming to promote the stable development of Russia, as he and Putin have both done.

Vladimir Putin has not ruled out running in the next presidential election.

"We will reach an agreement because we are of the same blood and of the same political outlook," Putin famously said in May 2009 at the Valdai International Discussion Club meeting, in answer to a question about the competition between the two leaders.

Medvedev, Putin's hand-picked successor, was inaugurated in May 2008, and the former president became prime minister a day later, with the pair pledging to run the country in "tandem."

A recent survey by an independent pollster said Russians think Medvedev and Putin have almost equal chances of becoming the next Kremlin chief after the 2012 presidential election.

Russians Give Medvedev, Putin Equal Chances of Running Kremlin After 2012 Election - Poll

MOSCOW, April 14, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

17:24 14/04/2010  RIA Novosti. Alexey Nikolskiy

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.

Putin to Reach Agreement with Medvedev Ahead of 2012 Presidential Elections

Putin to reach agreement with Medvedev ahead of 2012 presidential polls

17:16 11/09/2009 RIA Novosti. Alexsey Druginyn

MOSCOW, September 11, 2009 (RIA Novosti) -

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he and President Dmitry Medvedev would come to an agreement before the 2012 presidential polls and would not compete with each other.

"There will be no competition. We will reach an agreement because we are of the same blood and of the same political outlook," Putin said, answering a question from Nikolai Zlobin, a member of the Valdai Discussion Club.

Medvedev, Putin's hand-picked successor, was inaugurated in May 2008, and the former president became prime minister a day later, with the pair pledging to run the country in "tandem."

Medvedev later proposed introducing Constitutional amendments to extend the presidential and parliamentary terms to six and five years, respectively. He signed them into law last December, after they were approved by the lower and upper houses of parliament.

"Putin said he felt comfortable with the amount of power he has as prime minister. He is in no competition with President Medvedev," Zlobin said.