MOSCOW: A Russian politician has begun a campaign to encourage President Vladimir Putin's wife to join the race to succeed her husband in office, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Anatoli Beiev, a representative in the Volgograd region's parliament, has created an organisation to push for her candidacy in 2008, according to Nezavissimaia Gazeta newspaper. Members of the organisation held a rally in Volgograd to get the word out about their idea and sent a message to Liudmila Putin.

“The people feel great respect and infinite love for the current president,” the group wrote.

“We cannot imagine how we are going to live without Putin. The only solution is for you to continue the policies of Russia's renaissance together ...” The constitution prohibits Putin from seeking a third term. He said in January there would “not be a successor, but candidates for the post of president” who will campaign democratically. Several Russian political figures have called for Putin to seek a third term in recent months, but the Kremlin has ruled out amending the constitution to allow for it.—AFP