President Vladimir V. Putin of the Russian Federation ended uncertainty that had been hovering over the future of the country's presidency Monday by endorsing as his successor Dmitri A. Medvedev, a close associate.

The conflict to which Mr. Putin put an end by naming Mr. Medvedev as his choice in the upcoming March elections turned on two facts. The first is that Mr. Putin is far and away the pre-eminent leader of Russia at this time. Apart from the visibly prominent role that he plays in leading that country of 142 million, his vote-getting capacity was amply illustrated in Russia's Dec. 2 parliamentary elections, where Mr. Putin's party, United Russia, and its allies gained some 87 percent of the seats in the deciding lower house of the parliament.

The second fact is that the 1993 Russian constitution permits a president only two consecutive terms, which Mr. Putin will have completed, having taken power in 2000. Mr. Putin's supporters enjoyed a strong enough majority in the parliament to have amended the constitution if they had liked, to permit Mr. Putin a third or more terms. On the other hand, to have done so would have been to put another dent in the image of a new, constitutionally governed Russia that Mr. Putin and the country's other post-Soviet rulers wish to present to the world.

So, Mr. Putin will be stepping down as president, in accordance with the constitution. On the other hand, he will be handing power -- for it is virtually a sure thing that Mr. Medvedev will win handily in March -- to a young, trusted protege who clearly depends for his punch in Russian politics on Mr. Putin. There is always the risk, particularly in the brand of highly personalized politics that Russians practice, that Mr. Medvedev, 42, will begin to stake out ground that is independent of Mr. Putin.

On the other hand, Mr. Medvedev himself has provided a clear snapshot of what the future power structure will be as he has indicated that he favors Mr. Putin for prime minister, head of government, in post-March elections Russia.

What do these developments mean for the rest of the world in dealing with the Russians? It may be a little awkward from time to time at meetings of heads of state to have Mr. Medvedev -- as opposed to Mr. Putin -- at least nominally leading the Russian delegation. Whom would the successor to President Bush invite to the successor to the Crawford, Texas, ranch for example? But at least for the foreseeable future it remains certain that real decision-making authority will remain firmly in the hands of the redoubtable Mr. Putin.

In the long run, the tapping of Mr. Medvedev this early in the political game could mean that Russia will be able to avoid what was sometimes a curse for the old Russia and the Soviet Union -- how to bring about an orderly succession without heads literally as well as figuratively rolling. Orderly successions are a hallmark of -- actually -- democratic, modern states.