MOSCOW — Russians consider Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the country's key political figure, continuing to overshadow his successor as president, Dmitry Medvedev, according to an opinion poll released on Tuesday.
The survey was conducted this month after statements by Medvedev criticizing the country's widespread corruption and other failings in what some analysts said was a bid to define his own vision and emerge from Putin's shadow.
According to the results, Russians do not believe that Medvedev has managed to establish his own center of power 18 months after his March 2008 election.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents said Putin and the circle around him are the main influence on Medvedev's policies, according to the poll by the independent Levada Center. Just 20 percent said Medvedev pursues an independent policy.
These figures have shown little change in recent months. Eighty-one percent said Medvedev, handpicked by Putin, pursues the same political agenda as his predecessor, compared with 77 percent in March 2008.
The poll also followed comments by Putin this month in which he said he and Medvedev would decide which of them would run in the next presidential election in 2012, fuelling speculation that he plans to return as head of state.
"Maybe of course there is some contest between the teams around these two people, but Medvedev stresses they are partners and he does not try to challenge Vladimir Putin," said Denis Volkov of the Levada Center.
"Putin was successful and maybe lucky to be president at a time when oil prices were high, helping to give him an image of stability. It is very hard in the current conditions for a dependent figure to become independent," he said.
The poll was conducted from Sept. 18 to 21, with 1,600 people questioned in 128 locations in 46 regions of the country. Levada estimates that it has a 3.4 percent margin of error.