In a move that may further shake the Putin government’s firm political grip, tycoon and NBA franchise owner Mikhail Prokhorov announced he will run for the presidency.
Though other opposition leaders quickly alleged that Monday’s surprise decision is a Kremlin ploy to split the vote, the mining magnate and owner of the New Jersey Nets could be a galvanizing figure to the thousands of Russians protesting alleged election fraud and widespread corruption.
At a hastily-called press conference in central Moscow, Mr. Prokhorov explained he was entering the race to “defend the rights of the middle class” – the sector of Russian society that has turned against Mr. Putin and his United Russia party. “Society is waking up,” said the candidate, whose wealth is estimated at $18-billion. “Those authorities who will fail to establish a dialogue with the society will have to go.”
The last time Mr. Prokhorov tried his hand at Russian politics, he lasted just four months before he was forced out, seemingly a victim of his own growing popularity. The 46-year-old tycoon was outspoken in his disgust at the time, blaming a “puppet master” inside the Kremlin for his ouster as the head of a pro-business party in September.
Now, depending on whom you believe, he is either challenging the puppet masters directly, or willfully joining the show.
The bid could further complicate the Kremlin’s plans to return Vladimir Putin to the country’s top job next March. The government is already facing the largest opposition protests since the early 1990s, with tens of thousands taking to the streets to protest against alleged fraud during a Dec. 4 parliamentary election.
Many of those who have taken to streets since Dec. 4 – angered primarily by official corruption that reaches deep into ordinary life here – say the real battle for the country’s soul will come down to the presidential elections when Mr. Putin aims to return to the presidency after four years as prime minister.
Mr. Prokhorov must now gather two million signatures in support of his independent candidacy, a hurdle that has tripped up other would-be challengers in the past. However, the party that expelled him in the fall, Right Cause, suggested that it could yet decide to support his candidacy for the March 6 election, which would make the collection of signatures unnecessary.
If he is to be successful in his run for office, the gangly, deep-voiced tycoon will have to win over those in the opposition who are skeptical of his candidacy, seeing signs of a Kremlin effort to siphon off support from those leading the demonstrations.
Mr. Prokhorov distanced himself from the protesters, who have given the government until Dec. 24 to throw out the parliamentary election results and call a fresh vote, or face what the opposition says will be even bigger protests. “In Russia, revolutions end with big blood, so I am categorically against them,” he said. “I’m for evolution.”
The Kremlin on Monday signalled that it would not consider the opposition’s demand for fresh elections. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Mr. Putin, said that even if all the allegations of election fraud were proven, they affected “less than 1 per cent” of the total votes and “in no way affect the legitimacy of the election.”
At the same time that Mr. Prokhorov was announcing his candidacy, thousands of pro-Kremlin youths rallied on the edge of Red Square, chanting “Putin! Russia!” as speakers condemned the recent anti-government protests as part of a foreign plot to topple Mr. Putin.
He raised eyebrows by refusing to criticize Mr. Putin directly during his news conference, saying he wanted to focus on the issues and proposing solutions.
