Putin tipped to become party chief

Russia's biggest party will invite Vladimir Putin to become its leader, the party's chief said yesterday, a role that would further bolster Putin's influence after he steps down from the presidency next month.

Putin is expected to become prime minister when his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is sworn in on May 7, but leadership of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party would effectively give him control of parliament, where the party has a large majority.

"If Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin headed United Russia, it would be the very best option," Boris Gryzlov, the head of United Russia and the speaker of the lower house of parliament, told a news conference.