Russia’s PM,Vladimir Putin, candidate for presidential elections 2012

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who accepted on Sunday his ruling United Party nomination as its candidate in next year's election pledged to solve the problem of social inequality and seek justice.
"It is not the first time that Russia has set noble goals and achieved successes, uniting around particular values. These values are the truth, dignity and justice," Putin said at the United Party congress in the Luzhniki sports arena after accepting his nomination as the party's candidate in the presidential elections next year.
The presidential election campaign officially started in Russia on Saturday, with the polls scheduled to take place on March 4, 2012.
In mid-October, Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev announced their plans to swap jobs after the presidential elections. Medvedev, who will lead United Russia in parliamentary polls on December 4, is expected to become Russia's new prime minister after his presidential term expires.
Putin said it was necessary to respect the dignity of any person, seek the truth and do away with any injustice.
"Today it is obvious that Russian citizens and society want the authorities to ensure justice. Every decision and every step must meet the interests of the absolute majority," he said.
At a pompous event at Moscow's Luzhniki Arena on Sunday, the pro-Kremlin United Russia party officially named its leader Vladimir Putin, Russia's powerful prime minister, as its candidate for the March 2012 presidential elections. All 614 delegates from United Russia and Putin’s All-Russia People’s Front movement who took part in the vote during a party congress at Luzhniki unanimously backed Putin’s candidacy.
Some 11,000 Putin supporters gathered at the congress, held a week before December 4 parliamentary elections, to witness the official start of what is likely to become their leader's triumphant return to the Kremlin after four years as prime minister.A storm of standing ovation welcomed the announcement of the vote result as Putin made his way to the dais to thank his supporters.“My all life, without exaggeration, was devoted to serving our Fatherland,” he said in his speech, broadcast live by Russian state television channels.
“Our motto is ‘Never look back!’ Thank you… We will win together,” he added as President Dmitry Medvedev joined him on stage.
Tricolor national flags and dark-blue banners with a picture of a white bear, United Russia’s symbol, waved over Luzhniki Arena’s crowded grandstands as the prime minister’s supporters chanted “Putin” and “Russia” in an outburst of patriotic sentiment.Putin and Medvedev unveiled their plans to swap jobs after the March 2012 elections during United Russia congress in late September. The announcement ended months of speculation about Putin's possible return to the presidency.
The presidential election campaign officially kicked off in Russia on Saturday. The vote is scheduled for March 4.Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir Putin, has warned Western powers against meddling in Russia’s forthcoming elections after agreeing to stand for president in March 2012.
Addressing a glitzy congress of the ruling United Russia party on Sunday, Putin said any attempts by “foreign states” to influence Russia’s political process would be "futile."
Russia will hold a crucial parliamentary vote next week, followed by presidential elections in March next year.
“Representatives of some foreign states” were paying politically-active NGOs in Russia to “influence the course of the election campaign in our country,” Putin said to a roar of approval and applause.
Such defiant rhetoric has come to dominate Russian political discourse since liberal revolutions in neighboring Ukraine and Georgia in the early 2000s forced pro-Kremlin leaders from power there.
“It would be better if they used this money to pay off their national debt and stop conducting an ineffective and costly foreign policy,” he said in a clear reference to the debt-ridden United States.
"It's a wasted effort, like throwing money to the wind," he added.
Lilia Shibanova, the head of Russia’s main independent observer group Golos, said Putin’s stinging warning reveals his “total misunderstanding” of the current climate in Russia.
“They have cornered themselves by creating the only governing party, by impeding normal political competition and turning the political process into a monopoly,” Shibanova said. “This has nothing to do with monitoring.” “What they’ll get is even fiercer protests of the liberal opposition,” she added.Media agencies_ria.ru.