MOSCOW, Nov. 22 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is Russia's real leader and 84 percent of Russians believe he is just as powerful as he was before stepping down as president more than two years ago, a poll showed on Monday.
Putin is the dominant member of what Russian officials call a ruling tandem with Dmitry Medvedev, who Putin tapped as his successor when a constitutional limit of two consecutive terms kept him out of the 2008 presidential race.
The poll, carried out by the between Oct. 22-25 by the Levada Centre, showed that 84 percent of respondents believe Putin has preserved his influence since stepping down as Kremlin chief in May 2008 to become prime minister.
"People have the feeling that all the leverage is in the hands of Putin," Alexei Grazhdankin, Levada’s deputy director, told Reuters by telephone.
"Although Medvedev is the nominal leader, he does not have the same contact with the state machinery as Putin does," he added.
Both men say they consult on a regular basis and that they agree on almost all issues, though any signs of discord between Putin and Medvedev could provoke a constitutional crisis that would hammer Russia’s bond, equity and currency markets.
The poll showed that 71 percent of Russians believed that Putin and Medvedev would act in accord. Just 15 percent said that there would be any conflict between the two men, while 14 percent said they could not answer the question. Both Putin, 58, and Medvedev, 45, have suggested that one of them will run for president in 2012, and that they will agree in advance which one it will be.
