By Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's biggest party will askPresident Vladimir Putin to become its leader this week at aconference that could provide the final clue in the riddle ofwho will really run Russia after Putin steps down.
Putin has said he will serve as prime minister once hisprotege, Dmitry Medvedev, is sworn in as president on May 7.But for many investors the critical questions of how much powerPutin will wield and for how long remain unanswered.
If Putin does accept the invitation from the United Russiaparty to become its leader, it would significantly entrench hispower and indicate, some analysts say, that he is planning touse that position to preserve his long-term influence.
Turning down the job could suggest that Putin, after atrial period to make sure 42-year-old Medvedev settles into theKremlin job, is planning to take a back seat.
The Kremlin has given no indications about whether Putinwill lead the party. Putin is expected to attend the second dayof the conference, which opens on Monday.
"It would be the optimal variant if Putin became the partyleader. Like no one else he would get a sense of the wishes ofthe people from the grass roots," United Russia lawmakerVladimir Kolesnikov, told reporters at the conference onMonday.
Putin used a United Russia conference last year to announcehe could serve as premier once his presidency, limited by theconstitution to two consecutive terms, came to an end.
Putin, 55, is the country's most popular politician afterpresiding over Russia's longest economic boom for a generationand cementing Kremlin control after the chaos of the 1990s. Hiscritics, a minority in Russia, accuse him of crushingdemocracy.
Investors want to know what Putin's final role will beafter he steps down because they see political stability as keyto Russia's booming $1.3 trillion economy.
RIDDLE NOT SOLVED
Kremlin-watchers believe the riddle of what Putin will donext is still not fully solved because the post of primeminister is an awkward one for someone so powerful.
The prime minister is junior to the president, can besacked at the president's whim and often carries the can forpolicy failures. Putin filled the post with a series oflow-level technocrats all seen as expendable.
Some analysts see United Russia leadership as a way forPutin to preserve long-term influence by moulding the party,closely tied to the Kremlin since its creation, into a powerfulpolitical force in its own right.
The president can sack the prime minister but he has toseek the approval of parliament -- controlled by United Russia-- to appoint a new premier. The party has the two thirdsmajority required to amend the constitution.
Others say the party's influence and unity could dissolveif the new Kremlin administration withdraws its support.
Putin helped found the party, which was designed in thelast days of former President Boris Yeltsin's rule to ensurethe Kremlin's control of parliament.
A senior Russian official said Putin's future relationshipwith United Russia was still far from clear.
"I have a feeling there is something I don't know about thefuture structure. Everything is fluid," said the official, whodid not want to be identified.
There is a precedent for leadership of a party, rather thanany state position, providing the lever of power in Russia. Formuch of the 20th century, the leader of the Soviet Communistparty held sway over state institutions.
(Editing by Charles Dick)
