Zubkov's rise 'part of Putin power plan'

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s nominee for premier has voiced presidential ambitions.

Viktor Zubkov, a little-known chief of Russia’s financial intelligence agency, was not seen as a potential candidate to succeed Putin until the president named him in a surprise move that shocked the nation’s political class.

The lower house, the State Duma, is expected to quickly confirm Zubkov for the job today.

The ascent of Zubkov, who turns 66 this weekend, has led to suggestions he might have been chosen as a loyal caretaker who could keep the presidential seat warm and then step down to let Putin return.

Asked whether he would be president, Zubkov said yesterday: “If I achieve something in this position, I do not rule out this scenario.”

He would hardly have made the blunt statement without Putin’s nod. In contrast, Sergei Ivanov and Dmitry Medvedev, the two first deputy premiers previously seen as top presidential contenders had invariably dodged questions about their presidential ambitions.

Zubkov has kept a low profile during the six years he headed the federal agency combating money-laundering, but he has maintained close personal ties with Putin since the early 1990s when he worked as his deputy in the St Petersburg mayor’s office.

Kremlin-watchers said that Zubkov has been among a narrow circle of people regularly invited to Putin’s birthday parties. Putin has reportedly retained a deep personal respect for Zubkov, a Soviet-era bureaucrat who helped him learn the basics of administrative work in St. Petersburg.

With next March’s presidential election looming, the nation’s political elite was anxiously waiting for Putin to name a favoured successor. The immensely popular Putin cannot seek a third consecutive term because of a constitutional limit, but his blessing is considered sufficient for a hand-picked candidate to easily win the vote.

Putin himself was little-known when he began his swift ascent to power, and the Kremlin’s tight control over politics and the media could be turned – as with Putin – into tools that could swiftly groom a relatively obscure person for top office.

State-run television pumped up Zubkov’s image, depicting him as honest and hardworking and broadcast his lengthy interview in which he talked about his slow rise through the ranks of Soviet agricultural bureaucracy in the 1970s. “This experience was useful: a person who worked in farming wouldn’t fear to work even in the intelligence,” he joked.

Putin said that he plans to retain influence over the nation’s political scene after he steps down, and has not ruled out a future presidential bid.