Russia`s president-elect Dmitry Medvedev has moved into the Kremlin eight weeks before he is sworn in to take over from his mentor President Vladimir Putin, a Kremlin source said on Thursday.

The source confirmed a report in Russia`s Izvestia newspaper that Medvedev has moved out of his old office in the government headquarters and into a new workplace in building 14 in the Kremlin, a short walk from the block where Putin has his office.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the move was designed to help ensure a smooth handover of power when Medvedev is inaugurated as president on May 7.

"Yes, I can confirm this," the source told Reuters. "If you recall, there were reports about a decree being issued on ensuring that the president-elect is provided with the right conditions for his work and it (the move) is connected to this."

Medvedev, a 42-year-old former law professor and long-standing Putin associate, won a landslide victory in a presidential election earlier this month to become Russia`s youngest head of state since the last Tsar, Nicholas II.

Putin, 55, is to stay on as prime minister, an arrangement that has led some observers to question who will really be in charge. Analysts are watching closely for signs on how the two will divide up power in the run-up to the inauguration.

Medvedev, a first deputy prime minister, had until now been working out of his office in the White House government headquarters, a short trip down the Moskva river from the Kremlin.

The decree, issued by Putin the day after Medvedev`s March 2 election victory, instructed Kremlin staff to provide the president-elect with a security detail, an official residence and administrative support in the handover period.
sections: Politics