[bitontheslide]

i lived and worked in Russia for a bit. Putin was seen as a saviour to many, they genuinely liked him. They still like him in the majority, but not to the same overwhelming extent.

Putin is a tough cookie, but he has to be in that country, if he showed any weakness he would be dead, it's that simple.

In the overall scheme of things, the Putin regime is much better than it was in previous times. The Russian people, in the main, have a better quality of life, and they do have more freedoms than they used to. However we can't and shouldn't compare it to "normal" democracies because it isn't, and a normal democracy just wouldn't work there and isn't likely to for a long time.