RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has promoted Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov to the post of First Deputy Prime Minister in what is widely seen as a move to position his close ally for a presidential run. Mr Putin’s decree appointing his former KGB colleague was published by the Kremlin yesterday, allowing him to begin serving alongside the Government’s other First Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, who has been widely tipped as Mr Ivanov’s main rival in a presidential election scheduled for 2008. Full Story