One of Russia’s leading opposition politicians admitted yesterday that there was no prospect of defeating Vladimir Putin’s chosen successor in presidential elections next year.

Boris Nemtsov said that the opposition to the Kremlin was wrecking whatever small chance it had by fielding rival candidates for the election next March. He urged them to support a single candidate, saying that Mr Putin was leading Russia to disaster by restoring authoritarian rule. “Putin doesn’t trust democracy and freedom, he doesn’t believe that democracy or freedom of speech exists,” he said.

Mr Nemtsov was a reforming deputy Prime Minister under President Yeltsin and was regarded as a potential successor. He is also a key figure in the Union of Right Forces, a liberal party opposed to Mr Putin.

Six candidates have declared that they will run for the presidency, including four from the small liberal opposition. Mr Nemtsov, 47, told The Times that he would only consider standing if the opposition agreed a procedure for selecting a single candidate to avoid splitting their support.

“They are all for Russia to become a democratic country and they think that each of them is the right person. But Russia doesn’t need political infantilism,” Mr Nemtsov said. “I don’t think we have any chance in the presidential race. We have to use the election to explain our position, that Putin’s policy is leading Russia to the Third World.”

Sergei Ivanov and Dmitri Medvedev, the joint first deputy prime ministers, are the leading contenders to succeed Mr Putin. Mr Nemtsov said that the only difference between them was that Mr Ivanov had a KGB background and Mr Medvedev did not.

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