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Putin remains popular after decade in Kremlin
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-10 09:21 Perhaps the turning point for Putin was on the night of September 4, 2004 when he appeared on television after the siege by Chechen militants of Beslan school that left 331 children and adults dead. With Russia shattered and humiliated, Putin looked back with nostalgia to the Soviet Union, which he described as a "great state... unfortunately not compatible with the modern world".
And he bluntly acknowledged that the new Russia had "showed weakness" in dealing with the challenges of the modern world and it was now time to show more toughness. "The weak get beaten," Putin said. Only the original Russian - A slabykh - byut - can convey the terseness of the earthy street talk that is Putin's trademark and harks back to his tough upbringing in a communal apartment in Leningrad.
According to the survey by the Levada Centre to mark his 10 years in power, 63 percent of Russians think it is good for Russia that most of the power is concentrated in Putin's hands. Showing that the economy has been the main issue on people's minds in the last years, 39 percent say his greatest achievement has been raising the quality of life or the country's economic development. No wonder, therefore, that Putin has sought to portray himself as a frontline fighter against the economic crisis, which has brought the dynamic growth Russia enjoyed over the last years to an abrupt end. That dynamic growth could be restored, say some, just in time for Putin to run again for the top Kremlin job in 2012. AFP
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