Vladimir Putin went back to the future today by reclaiming the position of prime minister from which he first launched his presidential career.

Members of the Duma, Russia's parliament, obediently endorsed Mr Putin to head the Government a day after he made way for Dmitri Medvedev as President in the Kremlin.

The backing by 392 votes to 56 was the largest for any candidate in the Duma's 16-year history, with only the Communist Party voting against. The outcome was never in doubt because United Russia, which is controlled by Mr Putin, holds 315 of the Duma's 450 seats.

Mr Putin first emerged from obscurity as head of the Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB, when President Yeltsin named him prime minister in August, 1999. Within six months, he was acting president after Mr Yeltsin stood down.

His return as prime minister after eight years in the Kremlin has convinced most Russians that Mr Putin will continue to run the country with Mr Medvedev reduced to a figurehead. Many are hopeful that he will use it as a springboard to return as President at the next election in 2012.

Mr Putin gave every impression of intending to stay at the centre of Russian politics for years to come, setting out an unexpectedly detailed programme of policies in a 50-minute speech. Mr Medvedev told the Duma that Mr Putin had transformed Russia's standing in the world and improved the lives of its people.

The vote completes Mr Putin's grand plan for retaining power that he had first revealed in October, when he declared his willingness to make the unprecedented switch from president to prime minister.

Mr Putin, 55, was barred by the Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term as president. He named Mr Medvedev, 42, as his chosen heir in December and his protégé immediately asked him to serve as prime minister in a strategy carefully choreographed by the Kremlin.

President Medvedev told the Duma that Mr Putin had been instrumental in setting goals for Russia's development until 2020 and “as Cabinet chairman will play a key role in their realisation”.

Mr Putin centralised power in his hands as president and his prime ministers were usually grey figures responsible for implementing his decisions and taking the blame if things went wrong.

Mr Putin has already made sure that he will be far more independent of his successor. He controls the Duma through United Russia, which can block moves to sack him, and has changed the rules to require powerful regional governors to report to him first, rather than to the Kremlin.

He is also expected to almost double the number of deputy prime ministers to 11 when he names his government next week. Analysts said that this would free Mr Putin from day-to-day issues and allow him to act as a “president of the government”, focusing on major policy issues.

However, Mr Putin faces gathering economic difficulties over inflation that could dent his current popularity among Russians, who will blame him as head of the Government for failing to protect them from rising prices.

There is scepticism, too, over the division of responsibility between President Medvedev and Mr Putin despite their insistence that they have worked well together for 17 years. Experts fear that it will lead to instability as bureaucrats jostle for influence between the two camps in a country used to a single centre of power.

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