Moscow, February 24 (RHC)-- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will probably win his country’s presidential election in the first round on March 4th, according to several surveys published today in Moscow.

The independent Levada Center says that Putin has the support of 66 percent of decided voters.  Another survey -- conducted by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion -- says that the Russian prime minister has 53.5 percent backing.  And another opinion poll, the Public Opinion Foundation, or FOM, projects Putin as the winner of upcoming presidential elections with near 59 percent of the votes.

Vladirmir Putin is seeking a return to the Kremlin amid the biggest challenge to his 12-year rule after fraud allegations at parliamentary polls sparked protests in December and January.  The prime minister, who served as president from 2000 to 2008, will need to garner at least 50 percent to avoid a runoff.

In the Levada poll, the institute’s last before the vote, Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov was second with 15 percent, followed by the candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party with 8 percent, then billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov with six percent.

The surveys were conducted over the weekend, from February 17th through the 20th, and were published on Friday. 

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