I have read some excellent posts to this list documenting Putin’s excesses and their implications, many of them by you, Chris.
And I say:
The problem with a lot of Western stuff on Putin, in my humble opinion, is that they demand (at least) two things from him, both of are desirable:
1) An open, democratic society of some sort. A lot of Russians would agree to this, too, but not necessarily a majority (a friend of mine is fond of throwing up his hands and saying "Americans are simply OBSESSED with democracy!"). They want him to avoid authortitarianism.
2) Reigning in the chaos and corruption that made life a living Hell for most people in Russia in the 90s; limiting the power of the oligarchs, clamping down on the regional feudal lords (whoops, excuse me, governers) whose jobs consist in stealing from local enterprises, reigning in the mafia. Getting the economy functioning. Everybody is in favor of this except the targeted groups themselves, and maybe their moms.
The question is, can 1 really be reconciled with 2, practically? Given the presence of oligarchs who use their influence in the media, not to advise the government or to provide some kind of voice for the people or even make a profit, but explicitly to attack the government because it's trying to get them not to steal, is it really feasible to let them have media ownership? Is it really possible to attack corruption this widespread without an effective secret police? Can regional governments who flagrantly disregard the law be brought into line without centralized, authoritarian power? When 80% of businesses refuse to pay their taxes, do you have a choice other than using armed force to make them pay? I don't know the answer, myself.
Given conditions in Russia under Yeltsin, I'm surprised you don't have jack-booted thugs marching through Red Square holding his head on a stake. I'm surprised Russia has "guided democracy" and not total dictatorship or, even worse, total anarchy (I'm with Hobbes on this one). Given objective conditions, I think Putin is as good as you're going to get. (And that doesn't mean he's great, wonderful, the Savior of Russia, etc. Is it possible that the Chechen War was engineered to get Putin into power? Certainly.).
Chris Doss The Russia Journal