Putin sets date for parliamentary vote

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday set December 2 as the date for parliamentary elections, seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2008 presidential vote. Opinion polls indicate the parliamentary vote will again give Kremlin loyalists a big majority in the State Duma, the lower house which has rubber-stamped most of Putin's decisions during his seven-year rule.
"The President has signed the decree to hold the Duma elections on December 2nd," said a Kremlin spokeswoman on Sunday.
The vote may offer clues to whom Putin will endorse as his replacement when he steps down next year, almost assuring that candidate victory in the presidential vote. Putin critics say the Duma election will also showcase the Kremlin's "managed democracy," with some opposition parties barred from taking part and others starved of coverage on state-run television. Pro-Kremlin parties have more money and get more media coverage.