MOSCOW –  Vladimir  Putin on Saturday agreed to run for the Russian presidency in 2012, almost  certainly ensuring his return to the office he previously held for eight years  and likely foreshadowing more years of strongman rule. His United Russia party also  approved his proposal that the current president Dmitry  Medvedev take over his Putin’s role as prime minister.
Putin ruled Russia as president from 2000-2008 with  a steely command that was widely criticized in the West as a retreat from  democracy. Because constitutional changes have extended the presidential term to  six years from four, Putin’s power is likely to be even more enhanced. If he  wins two terms in a row, Putin will have been atop the Russian hierarchy for  almost a quarter century.
Putin’s nomination at a congress of the United  Russia party end months of intense speculation as to whether he would seek to  return to the Kremlin or whether he would allow the more mild-mannered and  reform-leaning Medvedev to seek another term in next year’s election.
Despite apparently growing discontent among ordinary  Russians with the party, United Russia exerts such an overwhelming presence in  the country’s politics that Putin’s election and Medvedev’s switch to the  premiership is virtually ensured.
Not only have genuine opposition parties been  marginalized, but Putin’s personal popularity is immense among Russians who laud  him as the strong and decisive figure needed by a sprawling country troubled by  corruption, an Islamist insurgency and a vast gap between the impoverished and  the grandiosely super-rich.
The presidential election, for which a date has not  been set, is preceded by national parliamentary elections on Dec. 4, in which  United Russia will seek to retain its dominance; the party has 312 of the 450  seats in the current parliament.
Putin started a carefully orchestrated series of  manuevers at Saturday’s session of the party congress by proposing that Medvedev  head the party list for the December elections. Medvedev then proposed that  Putin be the party’s presidential candidate, and Putin returned to the stage to  accept the proposal and express support for Medvedev as prime minister.
The congress approved the moves with no apparent  opposition.
Moving Medvedev to the premiership could set him up  to take the brunt of criticism for austerity measures that Putin has warned will  be necessary for Russia amid global economic turmoil.
Putin also proposed Saturday that Russia’s richest  citizens face higher taxes. The flat income tax that came into effect during  Putin’s 2000-2008 presidency has been widely praised as improving tax collection  and Putin’s proposal would not change that, but he called for increases in  consumption and real estate taxes that hit the rich comparatively harder.
The period for formal submission of presidential  candidates’ names has not yet begun, and it is unclear who might choose to  challenge Putin for president.
Putin became prime minister in 2008 after two terms  as president, stepping aside because of constitutional term limits, but as  Russia’s most powerful and popular politician he nonetheless overshadowed  Medvedev, his handpicked successor in the presidency.
Medvedev was widely seen as a caretaker figure. As  president, he has struck a reformist posture, calling for improvements in  Russia’s unreliable court system and for efforts against the country’s endemic  corruption. But his initiatives have produced little tangible result.
Putin, who built his popularity on the back of  strong economic growth, told the party congress on Friday that salaries and  pensions would continue to grow, and he promised increased funding for  education, health care and housing.
But he also cautioned that the government may need  to take unpopular steps to cope with the global financial turmoil.
“The task of the government is not only to pour  honey into a cup, but sometimes to give bitter medicine,” Putin said. “But this  should always be done openly and honestly, and then the overwhelming majority of  people will understand their government.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/24/putin-says-hes-running-for-president-becoming-heavy-favorite/?test=latestnews#ixzz1YsK4S1IR