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MOSCOW-President Vladimir V. Putin’s little-known choice to be prime minister suggested on Thursday that he might consider running for president next year, stoking speculation about whether he intends to be more than simply a caretaker. “If I succeed in doing something in the post of premier, if I manage to do something, then I do not exclude this alternative, maybe, as well,” said the nominee, Viktor A. Zubkov, responding to questions from reporters about his presidential ambitions during an appearance at the Parliament in Moscow.It was not clear whether Mr. Zubkov’s statement about the presidency was planned or whether it was merely an off-the-cuff remark from an official unused to the spotlight. Before his nomination, Mr. Zubkov was the chief of a low-profile federal financial crimes agency and had attracted little if any attention in political circles.That changed on Wednesday, when Prime Minister Mikhail Y. Fradkov announced his resignation and Mr. Putin immediately put forth Mr. Zubkov. The two have longstanding ties that date back to their days in the city government in St. Petersburg in the early 1990s.Mr. Putin has repeatedly promised that he will step down next year after eight years in office, abiding by the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms. Whoever he endorses for president is all but assured to win the elections next March, political experts here say, but Mr. Putin has kept his decision to himself, if he has in fact made one.Mr. Putin was himself a largely unknown functionary when he was appointed prime minister by President Boris N. Yeltsin, six months before presidential elections. While Mr. Putin cannot run for president next year, he could run again in four years, a fact that has raised speculation about whether he might want a faceless replacement to warm the seat until his return.On a trip outside of Moscow on Thursday, Mr. Putin gave no indication that Mr. Zubkov was his choice for president, declaring only that the nomination of a new prime minister was intended to insure stability in advance of parliamentary elections in December and the presidential election.“I expect all these changes will lead to the system of government in Russia functioning without hitches,” Mr. Putin said on Russian television.While there had been signs in recent weeks that Mr. Fradkov might step down, the appointment of Mr. Zubkov came as something of a surprise to Kremlin-watchers. Most speculation about a successor to Mr. Putin has centered on the two first deputy prime ministers, Sergei B. Ivanov and Dmitry A. Medvedev. Both men kept their jobs in the shift.Parliament, which is tightly controlled by Mr. Putin’s party, United Russia, is expected to approve the choice of Mr. Zubkov on Friday.As in the days of Noah...
