MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Financial Times published by the Kremlin website on Thursday that the process of electing the head of state in Russia is more democratic than in the United Kingdom, so it’s up to the people of Russia to decide who his successor will be.

"I can tell you without exaggeration that I have always been thinking about this, since 2000," the Russian leader said.

"The situation changes and certain demands on people change, too. In the end, and I will say this without theatrics or exaggeration, in the end the decision must be made by the people of Russia," he continued. "No matter what and how the current leader does, no matter who or how he represents, it is the voter that has the final word, the citizen of the Russian Federation."

He added that the head of state in Russia is elected by means of a universal direct secret ballot.

"Of course, it is different from what you have in Great Britain. We are a democratic country," he said. "In your country, one leader has left, and the second leader, who is for all intents and purposes the top figure in the state, is not elected by a direct vote of the people, but by the ruling party. It is different in Russia, as we are a democratic country. If our top officials leave for some reason, because they want to retire from politics like Boris Yeltsin, or because their term ends, we hold an election through universal direct secret ballot.".