MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, who transformed post-Soviet Russia by imposing Kremlin control over most aspects of public life, moved on Saturday to return to the presidency and could remain until 2024, giving him a rule comparable in length with that of Brezhnev or Stalin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/world/europe/medvedev-says-putin-will-seek-russian-presidency-in-2012.html?_r=1&hp

MOSCOW — During his two terms as president, Vladimir V. Putin muscled a new kind of capitalism onto the Russian stage, blending government and private business, jailing tycoons and demanding control of the “commanding heights” of the economy, the petroleum companies that now pump more oil than Saudi Arabia.

As Mr. Putin announced his intentions on Saturday to run for a third term, economists were not expecting Russia to swivel sharply back to such policies, in what would be yet another shift between state control and privatization in the country’s recent economic history.

Russia has already embarked on reforms under his successor, Dmitri A. Medvedev, to diversify away from oil dependence and foster a high-technology sector, in all likelihood with Mr. Putin’s blessing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/world/europe/medvedevs-economic-reforms-likely-to-continue-under-putin.html?hp