Russia's Presidential Election Is Heating Up

Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov speaks during an event to collect signatures for his presidential bid in Moscow January 13, 2012. Candidates must collect two million signatures to take part in the forthcoming presidential election, scheduled for March 4, 2012. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Russia Faces Violent Revolution If It Doesn’t Embrace Democracy, Billionaire Putin Challenger Declares -- National Post/Reuters

MOSCOW — Mikhail Prokhorov, a super-rich tycoon challenging Vladimir Putin for Russia’s presidency in March, said his country faced the danger of violent revolution if it did not break conservative resistance and move quickly to democracy.

Prokhorov, a billionaire bachelor long seen more as playboy than politician, told The Freeland File on reuters.com Russians had shaken off a post-Soviet apathy and were now “just crazy about politics.” He denied accusations he was a Kremlin tool, let into the race to split the opposition and lend democratic legitimacy to a vote Putin seems almost certain to win.

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More News On Russia's Presidential Election

Billionaire Kremlin hopeful says Putin must change -- Reuters
Billionaire Kremlin hopeful Mikhail Prokhorov says Vladimir Putin must change -- Economic Times
Profile: Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov turns to politics -- Reuters

Vladimir Putin tells Russians to reject a 'dash for change' -- The Telegraph
Russia's Putin promises change, warns of new crisis -- Reuters
Russia's Putin says opposition has few ideas -- AFP
Putin Reaches Out to Middle-Class Protesters, Pledges Freedoms -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Vladimir Putin says he’s Russia’s indispensable man -- Washington Post
Putin’s new ideology: Developing Russian civilization -- RT

Russian leaders make pro-democracy pledges -- Financial Times
Exiled Russian tycoon in Putin ouster plea -- RIA Novosti
In New Tact, Putin Courts Middle Class -- Moscow Times
Analysts: Putin Courting the Undecided -- RIA Novosti
Fresh voices against Russia’s old regime: A new generation of Russians is saying, enough is enough -- Michael Petrou, Macleans
The end of the Putin era? -- Sergei Khrushchev, Al Jazeera