Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's campaign manager Stanislav Govorukhin said he finds it strange that President Dmitry Medvedev has not played a more active role in the campaign and would like to see him show greater support.
"I have the feeling that he is kind of . . . keeping mum. And it seems to me that it would be more appropriate if he actively engaged in the campaign of the person he himself put forward as a candidate for president," Govorukhin said in an interview published in Izvestia on Friday.
Govorukhin also commented on other aspects of the presidential race, including Putin's refusal to participate in debates with other candidates and the candidacies of liberal leader Grigory Yavlinsky and billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.
In regard to the debates proposed by Putin's rivals, Govorukhin said, "Can you imagine Putin on the program 'To the Barrier!' standing across from Zhirinovsky?", referring to the flamboyant nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the candidate from the Liberal Democratic Party.
"Zhirinovsky can't have a civilized conversation with anyone, whether it's a woman, Yavlinsky or the prime minister," Govorukhin said.
He said he doesn't think the Kremlin played a role in halting the candidacy of Yavlinsky, who is expected to be removed from the race by the Central Elections Commission on Friday due to a lack of valid signatures in his support.
"Yavlinsky is not scary to anyone. He is a good person, charming, civilized, intelligent, but he is not scary to absolutely anyone," Govorukhin said.
Putin's campaign manager said he does not view Prokhorov as a threat in the March 4 election.
"In general I do not consider him seriously. It would be completely shameful if our people gave their votes to the person who robbed them," he said, referring to accusations that Prokhorov achieved his wealth through corrupt auctions of government assets in the 1990s.