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				Putin Woos Voters With Christian Confession

By Ben Aris, in Moscow, Feb. 12, 2000

IN A clear bid to soften his autocratic image, Vladimir Putin, Russia's acting president, and former KGB chief, claimed yesterday that he had been secretly baptised during Soviet times.

The clear favourite to win Russia's presidential election next month made the disclosure in a phone-in with readers of the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. He said: "When I was a few months old, my mum and her neighbour in our communal apartment took me to church without telling my father - he was a Communist Party member - and baptised me."

Christianity was severely repressed during the 70 years of Communist rule, but the Orthodox Church has enjoyed a renaissance since the fall of the Soviet Union and is a powerful pro-government force. Russian leaders are regularly shown attending church services on important feast days, and a law passed in 1998 effectively banned most other religions from operating in Russia.

Mr Putin's admission was seen as an attempt to soften his image as an ice-cold former spymaster. Two days ago he was pictured with his pet poodle. Journalists have shied away from asking about his KGB days from 1975 to 1992, including several years in East Germany. Mr Putin has remained a dark horse, saying little about what he would do as president.

His popularity has soared on the back of military successes in Chechnya, but with the fall of Grozny last week, the Kremlin is casting about for new themes to promote him.