Anna, a Muscovite and a young mother, was not fooled.
“It was obvious to everyone who would become the next president,” she said, strolling with her parents and holding her baby daughter, Valya, who will almost certainly spend much of her childhood with Putin as president.
“Our opinion does not count,” Anna said.
Putin, head of state from 2000-2008 and now prime minister, told a congress of his ruling United Russia party on Saturday he would run for a six-year presidential term next March. The limit of two straight terms means he could serve until 2024.
Putin’s announcement, cast as acceptance of an offer from President Dmitry Medvedev, ended months of mixed signals about whether the man seen as Russia’s paramount leader would seek to reclaim its top office or endorse his protege for a second term.
Many Russians responded with a shrug.
“I don’t really care,” said Alexei, a businessman in his 40s. “I earn money by myself, and I don’t pin my hopes on the president.”
Putin’s critics believe people like Alexei should care. They say a second presidency for the 58-year-old former KGB spy is a recipe for Soviet-style stagnation, not the innovation and increased economic growth he promised at the party congress.
Denis, a Muscovite in his 20s, dismissed those warnings. “I fully agree (with Putin’s decision to run), he is a very good and a wise man,” said Denis.
Igor Verigin, a Muscovite in his 50s, also approved.
“If this decision was taken at the United Russia congress, this means that it is the consolidated decision of the people and the elites,” he said.
While Putin’s approval ratings have fallen to near-record lows for his 11 years in power, he is still the country’s most popular politician and opinion polls indicate Putin will have little trouble reclaiming the presidency.
They also show that most Russians feel they have little say in politics. During his presidency, Putin abolished elections of regional governors, made it tougher for opposition parties to win seats in parliament and reined in street protests.
A July survey by independent pollster Levada found that a majority of Russians believed the December parliamentary election, in which Putin hopes United Russia will retain its overwhelming dominance, would be an “imitation” contest.
“The (outcomes) of the current and previous elections have been predetermined,” said Anna, who declined to give her last name.
A participant in a forum on the Russian newspaper Vedomosti’s website made a similiar point in bitter terms.
“They are not even shy about saying openly who does the deciding in this country,” user dima.novikoff wrote.
“(Medvedev’s) declaration that ‘the choice is yours’ sounds like soothing words to a terminally ill patient.”
Medvedev said on Saturday that voters would have the final say in the planned Kremlin role reversal. But both he and Putin said they had decided years ago their plan for 2012.
