“This replacement weakens the Kremlin in that Surkov is the founding father of the big political machine which will not work effectively without him,” said Petrov, who worked in the Kremlin before Surkov arrived.

The new political advisor, Vyacheslav Volodin, was a founder of the Russia Popular Front, a support group of trade unions and professional groups.

This heavily blue collar group may become a key pillar of support for Putin as Russia’s urban middle class tire of him. At a televised meeting of the Front on Tuesday, Putin, nodded sympathetically as a retired metal worker spoke of his outrage at the anti-government postings on Russia’s free-wheeling Internet.

Legitimacy

Demonstrators hold a rally protesting against election fraud in Moscow, December 24, 2011.

Putin seeks to win the March 4 presidential elections on the first round, with over 50 percent of the vote.

Talking to Front members, he called for transparent election, using clear plastic ballot boxes. He stressed his desire that election be perceived - in Russia and overseas - as legitimate.

He said he can be elected president without ballot stuffing.

On Wednesday, a

Wall Street Journal

computerized study of returns from Russia’s nearly 100,000 polling stations concluded that about 40 percent of votes cast for the ruling party were in some way associated with ballot stuffing and other fraudulent practices.