RUSSIA: t Vladimir Putin told the Russian people yesterday that his rule had brought stability to the country, and announced he would stay on in politics after stepping down from the presidency in 2008.
In a marathon three-hour live TV phone-in, he appeared cheerful and confident in taking questions from voters across the country.
The economy is jittery and the war in Chechnya is showing no sign of ending, but Mr Putin insisted his rule has given Russia a much-needed firm platform for growth.
He said economic reforms and continuity of government had moved Russia beyond the chaotic 1990s. "All this taken together creates an absolutely stable situation in the country," he said.
It was an ambitious exercise, with outside broadcast cameras around the country taking questions from crowds of passers-by in several dozen locations. Mr Putin gave his answers in a studio flanked by the white, blue and red Russian flag.
One group of questioners, asking about forces' pay, were air force pilots dressed in blue uniforms and flanked by jet bombers at a base in central Russia.
The president has been under fire from liberals for centralisation of power, the scrapping of regional elections, and accusations of political interference in the jailing of oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. But Mr Putin insisted his rule did not herald a return to Soviet times: "The danger of a return to a monopoly of power does not exist," he told one caller.
He left open the question of his role in 2008, when the constitution obliges him to step down as president.
His command of politics, government and the media, along with the near-extinction of opposition parties, has prompted speculation that he will groom his own successor, much as he himself was groomed by the last president, Boris Yeltsin.
The constitution does not prevent him standing again for president in 2012, something many here consider a realistic prospect.
"I'll find my place in the scheme of things," Mr Putin (52) said. "I won't stay in the Kremlin for an eternity." This has reinforced speculation that in 2008 he will lead his party, United Russia, in parliament.