Azernews.Az

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and other "dictators" should feel nervous after the death of Libya's Muammar Qaddafi, U.S. Senator John McCain said, Bloomberg reported.

"I think dictators all over the world, including Bashar al-Assad, maybe even Mr. Putin, maybe some Chinese, maybe all of them, may be a little bit more nervous," McCain said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. late yesterday. "It's the spring, not just the Arab spring."

Qaddafi was killed yesterday after an eight-month armed conflict that left thousands dead.

Putin, 59, a former KGB officer who has been in power since 2000, may be at the helm for as long as 24 years after deciding to return to the Kremlin next year by pushing aside his protege, President Dmitry Medvedev. This would make Putin Russia's longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

"I think it's very possible that you will see people protesting a government that is clearly one that is not democratic in a fashion that I think the Russian people had the hopes and aspirations for once the Soviet Union collapsed," said McCain, the Arizona Republican who was his party's presidential candidate against Democrat Barack Obama in 2008.

Putin said in an interview with Russian state television broadcast on Oct. 17 that ordinary citizens "always have a choice" in deciding on their leaders. He also said he wants his ruling United Russia party to keep its dominant role in the country in December legislative elections.

Dominant party
Putin centralized power and sidelined opposition after becoming president in 2000, with pro-government parties now controlling 87 percent of seats in parliament, including a two- thirds majority held by United Russia. He stepped down in 2008 after serving the maximum two consecutive terms as president and became prime minister. Putin will run in March presidential elections.

Medvedev, a 46-year-old former corporate lawyer, may become prime minister under Putin. An adviser to the president, Igor Yurgens, in January urged Putin to let Medvedev stay on as president, or risk unrest like that in the Middle East.

"People won't understand why Russia can't choose a new, more modern-looking person who is more open to the outside world," Yurgens, who heads a research institute set up by Medvedev, said in an interview. "Everyone is fed up at seeing the same face."

Putin has a popularity rating of 49 percent, down from a peak of 70 percent in 2008, according to the latest poll carried out by the Public Opinion Foundation, also known by its Russian acronym FOM. The survey, based on interviews with 3,000 people Oct. 15-16, was published yesterday. No margin of error was given.

Obama's approval rating remains at a low of 42 percent, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Oct. 4. The poll was conducted Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 among 1,002 adults with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.

McCain, who has co-sponsored legislation that would impose a U.S. visa ban and asset freeze on Russian officials guilty of human rights abuses, said Putin may face "significant" unrest.

"I cannot predict an armed uprising or anything like that, but I can certainly see significant protests in a lot of countries," he said when asked about what may happen in Russia.