Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky says he will not run against Vladimir Putin in a presidential election in March, a move expected to help the head of state's chances of an easy first-round victory.
It will be the first time the flamboyant Zhirinovsky, whose fiery nationalism strikes a chord with millions of voters, will be absent from a presidential race since the days of the former Soviet Union.
"I will intentionally avoid taking part in the presidential election personally," Zhirinovsky said at his Liberal-Democratic Party's (LDPR) congress on Friday. "But I will persistently advertise LDPR's programme and campaign for our candidate."
Zhirinovsky's party this month took third place in elections to the 450-seat State Duma lower house of parliament with 38 seats, their best standing since he stunned the establishment by winning nearly a quarter of the vote in 1993.
LDPR's massive appeal to disgruntled Russian voters lies squarely with Zhirinovsky's personal performance and charisma and any other candidate stands virtually no chance of winning a credible number of votes.
Today's decision by Zhirinovsky, who latest opinion polls say could take some five percent in the March 14 poll, will therefore help Putin's chances of a sweeping victory in the first round, avoiding an embarrassing run-off.
The LDPR chose Oleg Malyshkin, a 50-year-old former boxer and a complete political unknown, as its presidential candidate at the party congress on Friday, Interfax news agency reported.
Despite being in the political opposition, LDPR has always backed the Kremlin in parliament.
Putin is absolute favourite to win the Kremlin but if he fails to repeat the all-out victory scored in the first round four years ago, it will seriously undermine his next presidency and drastic reforms analysts believe he wants to push forward.