Russia’s parliament is rushing through plans to extend the presidential term from four years to six, leading to speculation that Vladimir Putin plans a dramatic return to the Kremlin.

A constitutional amendment is to be fast-tracked through the Duma, the lower house of parliament, which will vote tomorrow on all three readings of the Bill. Deputies usually take weeks to consider legislation over three readings before passing it into law.

Dimitri Medvedev, the Russian President, proposed the term extension in his first state-of-the-nation address last week and submitted the Bill on Tuesday. The speed with which the Duma is moving suggests a sense of urgency in the Kremlin to have the reform put in place.

Mr Medvedev took office in May and has three and a half years of his term remaining. Officials said that the extension would not apply to his current term, raising further questions about the haste of the Duma.

An unnamed Kremlin adviser was quoted in Vedomosti, a daily business newspaper, last week as saying that the reform was intended to restore Mr Putin to the presidency as early as next year. He became Prime Minister after selecting Mr Medvedev to be his successor in elections in March.

Under such a scheme Mr Medvedev, 43, would enact the amendment and some unpopular social reforms. He would then resign and call a snap election in 2009 to make way for his mentor to return.

Mr Putin, 56, would govern for two more terms of six years each, until 2021, allowing him to fulfil the Putin Plan for the social and economic development of Russia.

Mr Putin fanned the belief that he is preparing for a comeback as president by pointedly refusing to state who would be the first to benefit from a longer term.

“I support Dimitri Medvedev’s proposal. As regards to who can run for the next term and when, it is premature to talk about this,” he said after a meeting with Matti Vanhanen, the Finnish Prime Minister.

He added: “We are looking for instruments which would allow us to guarantee sovereignty, to implement our long-term plans . . . and assist the development of democratic processes in the country.”

There is no doubt that the Duma will pass the term extension because United Russia, the Kremlin-controlled party, has a two-thirds majority, which is sufficient to make constitutional changes. It will then go to the upper chamber, the Federation Council, which can be expected to approve it just as quickly.

Mr Putin put himself at the head of United Russia’s electoral slate in parliamentary elections in December last year, turning it into a referendum on his authority as the “national leader” of the country.

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