Putin: villain abroad, hero at home

To theWest he is public enemy number one: snatching land from his neighbours,interfering in foreign elections and unveiling weapons that he saysrender Washington’s missile defence systems obsolete.But despite —or because of — his reputation abroad, Vladimir Putin is still widelypopular in Russia and is all but guaranteed to win a presidentialelection this week with a landslide.In part this is because overalmost two decades in power he has cracked down on dissent andconsolidated Kremlin control over the media.The president’s most vocal opponent is also barred from appearing on the ballot on March 18 owing to a criminal conviction.Formillions of Russians, however, Putin is the man who brought stabilityafter the political and economic chaos of the 1990s, as well asrestoring Moscow’s standing on the world stage following the humiliatingcollapse of the Soviet Union.“Putin is a mirror and everyone can see in him what they want,” independent political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.“Forsome he is the man who got Russia back off its knees, got the army anddefence back on track. For others he raised the quality of life and madesure pensions were paid on time,” he said.For those abroad, Putin —who in recent years has been variously portrayed as an octopus, TheTerminator, Hitler and Batman’s nemesis The Joker on the cover ofWestern news magazines — means something else entirely.“But beingthe West’s main enemy is an acknowledgement that he is the number onepolitician. If they’re scared of you, it means they respect you,” saidKalachev.The US and Europe hit Russia with sanctions in 2014 overthe annexation of Crimea and Moscow’s backing of rebels in Ukraine’seast.Since then Russia’s support of the Syrian regime in a bloodycivil war, allegations that Moscow interfered in US presidentialelections and the discovery of a state-sponsored Olympic dopingprogramme have further hurt the country’s reputation abroad.Putinoften frames negative foreign coverage of his leadership as a sign thatRussia is under attack from a West uncomfortable with the country’s newglobal role.As he unveiled what he called “invincible” new weaponsin his state of the nation address this month, he reminded the audienceof the time in the early 2000s when “no one listened to us”.“Listen to us now,” he said before playing video montages that displayed the weapons’ capabilities.TheRussian moderator of a televised discussion last year jokingly toldPutin he was the “pole of evil” around which Western powers “consolidateand mobilise”.“Can you imagine how they would manage without you?” the moderator asked an appreciative president.Whilesupport for Putin in Russia has dipped slightly in recent months,according to official polls, around 70% of those who are planning tovote say they will back the current president.His closest competitor, Communist candidate Pavel Grudinin, is projected to garner less than 8% of the vote.“(Putin)expertly exploits all the fears and the complexes of the population,”Kalachev said, adding that the greatest fear was a return to theinstability of the 1990s.“People are afraid of losing what theyalready have...and this fear is especially strong in the provinces,where it is hard, but still possible, to live,” he said.DespitePutin’s campaign promises when he returned to the Kremlin in 2012 afterfour years as prime minister, his last term was marked by recession and afall in living standards.Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who hascalled for a boycott of the polls since he was barred from standing,rejects the idea that Putin retains real support in the provinces.“Theysay there: well alright, Putin, there’s nobody apart from Putin, I’llvote for him! That’s the only reason why he gets any votes,” Navalnytold AFP in a recent interview.At a recent campaign rally in Moscow, supporters of the president expressed a similar sentiment.“Ido not see another candidate who could be our commander in chief,”Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov told the 100,000-strong crowd.”He’s the only one. Putin is our president.”