MOSCOW — After a week of surprising challenges to his authority, Vladimir Putin faces a new one from one of Russia's richest and most glamorous figures – the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets says he will run against Putin in March's presidential election.Mikhail Prokhorov's announcement Monday came just hours after another Russian economic star, Putin's former finance minister Alexei Kudrin, said he was ready to work to form a new party.
The declarations underline the extent of the discontent with the man who has dominated Russian politics for a dozen years, coming on the heels of Saturday's unprecedented nationwide protests. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the streets to denounce alleged election fraud favoring Putin's United Russia in Dec. 4 parliamentary elections.
The fraud and the party's comparatively poor showing in the elections – losing about 20 percent of its seats, though it retained a narrow majority – galvanized long-marginalized opposition forces to conduct a startling series of demonstrations, including an enormous rally in Moscow of at least 30,000.
At a news conference announcing his candidacy, Prokhorov refrained from criticizing Prime Minister Putin or President Dmitry Medvedev, but said "society is waking up."