Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he would become prime minister if his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev was elected in his stead - setting a blueprint for power when his term ends in 2008.

"If citizens give a vote of confidence to Medvedev and elect him Russia's president, I will be ready to lead the government," Putin said endorsing Medvedev's nomination at United Russia's party congress Monday.

Medvedev, who both holds a cabinet post and chairs the board of state energy monopoly Gazprom, is virtually guaranteed to be succeed Putin - riding on the coattails of the president's overwhelming popularity.

Within two weeks of the Kremlin party's win in controversial parliamentary elections, Putin seems to have decided two of the country's most pressing political questions: his successor and his future political role.

Putin stressed, however, that he would take the post "without any changes to the balance of power between the parliament and presidency," defeating speculation that he could use his decisive parliamentary majority to amend the constitution and bleed powers from Russia's strong executive.

Amid an atmosphere reminiscent of a mix between a US-style clam and a Soviet party congress, Russia's top-politicians gathered and voted in support of Medvedev - as was expected.

Party leader Boris Gryzlov said Medvedev had been unanimously elected to continue the party programme, dubbed "Plan Putin," which took shape during campaigning as the securing of Russia's oil-fuelled rise against amorphous Western foes.

The soft-spoken Medvedev, a graduate of the same St Petersburg law academy as Putin, is seen as a compromise to his fellow Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, a hawkish former defence minister.

The Putin-Medvedev power division may put to rest rumoured months of infighting among Russia's security elite that spilled over into a recent scandal at the economic ministry. Markets jumped on the news of Mededev's nomination last week.

The 42-year-old liberal lawyer again voiced his loyalty to Putin on Monday, and echoed the Kremlin leader's characteristic robust rhetoric, saying his priority was "to strengthen Russia's role as a world leader."

In his speech of thanks, Medvedev told deputies: "It is only possible to carry out these plans together with their author, Vladimir Putin."

Medvedev's staunch loyalty to Putin without any political power base of his own raises doubts as to whether he would come into his own as an independent leader or serve as a figurehead for his employer of 17 years.

In most recent polls, more than 60 per cent of Russians said they would vote for United Russia's candidate, making all opposition candidates non-staters in the campaigning to begin one month before the March 2 elections.