MOSCOW, RUSSIA: Five days before Russia's presidential election, the country's children have no doubt who will win, judging by an exhibition of drawings that opened Tuesday (February 26th) in Moscow.

The competition titled "Draw the Future President" so far features only Dmitry Medvedev and his backer President Vladimir Putin, according to organisers from the weekly tabloid Express Gazeta.

The other three candidates in Sunday's election do not feature at all.

In the drawings, shown on Express Gazeta's website, the usually bland Medvedev appears in many guises. He cradles a new born baby, heads into space, and dons a tight red singlet to help Putin lift up Russia.

Express Gazeta launched "Draw the Future President" not long after Putin named Medvedev his preferred successor late last year.
Five hundred children aged between seven and 16 have submitted drawings from all over Russia.

Organisers expect 3,000 pictures by the end of the competition in May, when the new president will be inaugurated.

The lack of interest in the other three candidates reflects the way that massive Kremlin support and a near monopoly over coverage on state television have given Medvedev the mantle of president-in-waiting.

"Children see Dmitry Medvedev as president," said Express Gazeta spokeswoman Yekaterina Shumeiko.

Many pictures depict the government bureaucrat and Gazprom energy giant chairman as a kindly adult, including one drawing in which he meets a child's grandmother to raise her pension.

A competition to draw Putin two years ago resulted in more colourful offers, including one showing the president conquering the moon and another where he brushes his teeth next to a solid gold toilet.

"Putin was already in his second term and they knew him well and love him. They do not know Medvedev at all," said Shumeiko, pointing out that in many of the pictures Medvedev looks a lot like Putin.

The winner of the Putin competition took home a puppy related to the president's dog Connie, with a keg of German beer given to the parents. The winner of the Medvedev contest will get a laptop computer.

If Medvedev wants a leg up in the popularity stakes, he'd better get a furry friend to rival Putin's labrador, Express Gazeta said.

"Our little readers really want Dmitry Medvedev to win... and for him to get a cat or a dog like Vladimir Putin's," the newspaper's website said.