Putin Rules Out 'Dangerous' Change in Russia

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Russia needed to find its own democratic model that avoided "dangerous" changes and ensured the continuity of power.

Putin also told an economic forum in a keynote address that those interested in entering politics should behave responsibly -- a clear reference to the protests that greeted his return to an historic third term this year.

"A desire for change is clearly an engine of progress. But it becomes counterproductive and even dangerous if it leads to the destruction of social peace and the state itself," Putin told the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum.

"We must work out a single formula that is acceptable to the predominant majority of Russian citizens...for a national model of democracy and development that works effectively in our conditions," he said.

"Everyone must understand what can and should be improved, and what values and institutions remain fundamental -- state-forming -- and not subject to any revisions."

Putin, 59, headed the Kremlin between 2000 and 2008 before being forced by the constitution to step down.

He served the past four years as prime minister and announced plans to return to a third term by using constitutional revisions that extended the presidential mandate from four years to six.

Putin's election victory was thumping but preceded by the largest street protests to hit Moscow since the dying days of the Soviet Union.

Those rallies lost some momentum after the March elections and investigators are now probing protest leaders for violations of rally rules and even tax evasion -- crimes that could leave some of them behind bars for years.

Putin never refers to the protest leaders by name in public and did not mention the ongoing investigations on Thursday.

But he also noted that "everyone -- and I want to stress everyone -- who wants to get involved in politics or who considers himself a politician must express their position exclusively within the framework of the law."