DATE=1/13/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA POLITICS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258045
BYLINE=BILL GASPERINI
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia's acting president, Vladimir Putin, has
formally accepted his nomination to run for the job
full-time in a special election scheduled for March.
Bill Gasperini has the details from Moscow.
TEXT: Acting President Putin chose an awards ceremony
in Russia's second city, St. Petersburg, to confirm
that he is running for president.
/// Putin Act in Russian, fade under ///
"I didn't plan on doing this now," he says, "but on
this festive occasion, I'd like to say that I accept
with satisfaction and gratitude this suggestion, and
will take part in the electoral campaign."
The 47-year-old former intelligence chief has been
acting president since Boris Yeltsin's surprise
resignation on New Year's Eve.
Mr. Putin has long indicated he would be a candidate
to win the presidency in his own right. But it was
not until Wednesday that he was formally nominated by
a group of influential supporters.
The election is due to be held March 26th, and Mr.
Putin appears to be the favorite to win.
He has been riding high in the public opinion polls
for months. According to the latest polls, his
approval rating is close to 60 percent.
The acting leader received another boost when his
chief rival signaled he will not be running for
president against Mr. Putin. Instead, former Prime
Minister Yevgeny Primakov says he plans to run for
speaker of the Duma, or Parliament.
Mr. Primakov has also fared well in the opinion polls,
but his party suffered badly in parliamentary
elections last month.
The only other declared presidential candidates so far
are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, ultra-
nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and liberal reformer
Grigory Yavlinsky.
But analysts agree that none of these three has a
realistic chance of beating Mr. Putin in March.
(Signed)
NEB/BG/GE/JP
13-Jan-2000 13:32 PM EDT (13-Jan-2000 1832 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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