PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has once again kept Russia guessing about his future by sending conflicting signals about who will govern the country once he leaves office in March. He hinted last week that he may become the power behind the throne.

He told western reporters at his Black Sea residence that he had no intention of taking a back seat, despite the constitutional requirement that he step down after two terms.

“I have no interest in a weak president after me,” he said. His successor would have to be a “self-sustainable and efficient individual who will serve the people”.

He took the country by surprise in nominating Viktor Zubkov, 66, as Russia’s new prime minister. He is a trusted member of Putin’s inner circle but little known outside.

Coming only three months before parliamentary elections, his appointment was unexpected even among veteran Kremlin insiders and has thrown into confusion the struggle to be nominated as Putin’s chosen heir.

If he decides to stand, Zubkov could be pitted against deputy prime ministers Dimitry Medvedev, 42, and Sergei Ivanov, 54, who until last week were seen as the most likely to win Putin’s support as candidate for president.

Ivanov, a hawkish former KGB officer, was widely expected to be appointed prime minister when the government resigned last week. Many observers believe Zubkov is too inexperienced to be a serious contender for the presidency but his promotion has cast doubt on Ivanov’s and Medvedev’s futures.

One thing is virtually certain: whichever candidate has Putin’s backing and the resources of the Kremlin machine behind him will win.

True to the nature of Russian politics, Putin wrong-footed those around him and demonstrated that Russia’s future rests in his hands alone.

“The risk for Putin was always that once he announces who he thinks should take over from him, he could become a lame duck president as all the attention would shift to his crown prince,” said a Kremlin insider. “Last week he demonstrated that he . . . intends to stay in control.”

Putin appeared to reject a return to the presidency in 2012, which the constitution would allow. But he made it clear he had no intention of leaving politics. “This will be a factor which any future president must reckon and we must agree how we will function,” he warned.

Boris Berezovsky, Putin’s billionaire critic who was forced to seek political asylum in Britain, argued in The Sunday Times last month that his regime would inevitably collapse because it was based on a corrupt elite.

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