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Critics of Russia's current administra-tion under President Vladimir Putin have been puzzled about who would become the leading candidate in country's presidential election in March 2008.In early December 2007,the question was answered when Putin nomi-nated First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as the candidate for the pro-Putinruling United Russia party. Since then, crit- ics have been wondering where Medvedev,as president, would take the country.