MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Half of all Russians believe  there is a personality cult surrounding Prime Minister Vladimir  Putin or that the conditions are ripe for one to develop, an  opinion poll showed yesterday.

Twenty-three percent of respondents said they believed “all  the signs of a personality cult around Vladimir Putin already  exist”, according to the poll by the independent Levada Centre.

Another 26 percent said they thought “more and more  conditions are being created” for such a personality cult.

Thirty-eight percent said they saw no sign of Putin’s  personality cult and 12 percent were undecided.

Putin stepped down as president last year, handing over the  top Kremlin job to his handpicked successor Dmitry Medvedev but  retaining enormous influence via the premiership.

Lionised by docile state media as a tough troubleshooter who  travels across crisis-battered regions to help resolve ordinary  Russians’ problems, Putin has not ruled out running for  president again in 2012.

A judo black belt who last year hit the headlines after  shooting a tiger, the former KGB officer captivated Russia’s  television audience this year when he showed his softer side  wearing a wet suit and tagging a whale.