The Fair Russia party has officially declared its support for First Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, as presidential candidate. The decision was taken on Saturday at a session of the party's central council.

According to its leader, the Head of the Russian Federation Council, Sergey Mironov, he shares the party stance on most of the issues.

He also said the party would do its best to have the presidential term extended following the March presidential vote.

“A four-year term of office is not enough for a country such as Russia. I think we could consider this constitutional provision in the near future. Any elected president will need the first two years to get familiar with the affairs of state. That's an important argument,” Sergey Mironov said. 

If Dmitry Medvedev wins the next year's election, he'll become, at the age of 42, Russia's youngest  president .

Vladimir Putin was only 47 when he was sworn in as Russian leader almost eight years ago.

Intense talks on whether Medvedev would become Putin's successor began in 2005 when he was appointed the country's First Deputy Prime Minister. Two years on, Medvedev has formally entered the presidential race after being nominated by the United Russia party.

Apart from United Russia, the country's largest political party that won a landslide in the general election, three more parties have said they will support Medvedev.

What's more important, though, is that Medvedev has the backing of President Putin, who's at the peak of his political form and enjoying his highest approval ratings.

Now Medvedev is seen as the person most likely to continue Putin's reforms.

Medvedev's key responsibilities in government are now in the social sector, such as housing, education and health, and are known as national priority projects.

If Medvedev does become Russia's president, he will still have to prove himself in the field of international policy.