Putin faces opposition from the reformist right
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Your support makes all the difference.Vladimir Putin could find an unexpected obstacle on his hitherto smooth path to re-election as President in March.
The former Russian "oligarch" and self-appointed opposition leader Boris Berezovsky told The Independent he planned to support and help fund an opposition candidate to challenge Mr Putin from the reformist right.
He has yet to name his choice, but whoever is selected will be assured of lavish funding and the backing of Mr Berezovsky's publicity machine. The challenger will also have to accept that any association with Mr Berezovsky, branded a criminal and fraudster by the Russian authorities, will also be a liability.
Mr Berezovsky, a former computer scientist, car salesman and media mogul, was granted political asylum in Britain in September, after seeking refuge here two and a half years ago. During that time, he has sought to become an active player in Russian politics, despite the criminal charges he faces there. Attempts by the Russian authorities to have him extradited came to an end when he was granted asylum.
Initially a supporter of President Putin, Mr Berezovsky now sees himself as his chief adversary. He says Mr Putin wants to reverse the decentralising and deregulating reforms introduced by Boris Yeltsin and that the logical result of this course would be a "dictatorship".
He believes the prospects for a candidate from the free-market right to make a reasonable showing against Mr Putin are not as hopeless as they might seem.
The failure of either of the two reformist parties to win the 5 per cent of the vote needed for representation in parliament at this month's elections underlined the lack of convincing political leaders on the moderate and free-market right.
Anyone who could unite the 10 per cent of Russian voters who believe Mr Putin is moving too slowly and conservatively could dent the President's support and lay the foundation for a new political force that could be a real contender for parliament and the presidency in four years' time.
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