KAZAN, RUSSIA - Dmitry Medvedev, the next face of Russian power and rebirth, is by no means a carbon copy of his mentor, Vladimir Putin. As he strides into a conference room here in one of Russia's industrial hubs, his boyish looks and rounded shoulders contrast starkly with the icy persona and judo athlete's physique of the country's current president.
But Putin's Russia will stay Putin's Russia for the foreseeable future, most observers believe, so Medvedev strains to look and sound like his longtime overseer.
At a meeting of Russian sports officials and educators in Kazan, he firmly castigates a deputy minister with sharp words and a steely gaze, much like Putin would. Later at a campaign rally thinly disguised as a celebration of youth and sports, Medvedev strides to the stage wearing a black turtleneck underneath a sports jacket, a trademark combination of Putin's.
Russians want Putin to stay on as their czar. But he cannot constitutionally serve a third consecutive term, so someone who emulates Putin -- and exalts him -- will have to do.
There's little doubt that Putin's anointed heir, the diminutive 42-year-old Medvedev, will score a landslide victory today. In May, Medvedev will be inaugurated, and if Putin sticks to his word, he will work alongside his longtime protégé as Russia's new prime minister.
The election won't be an exercise in democracy, most observers say. But they remain divided as to whether today's vote is a genuine handover of power or the culmination of a carefully crafted script that preserves for Putin a position of power well after his presidency ends.
Some analysts assert that Putin chose Medvedev as his successor over Sergei Ivanov -- like Medvedev, currently a first deputy prime minister -- because he saw Medvedev as politically weaker and less likely to challenge his postpresidential influence over the country.
Others, however, say Medvedev will abide by a transition period in which he grows into the job while Putin remains a de facto leader, but then will eventually assume full authority over the Kremlin.
