Of course, it was never sold like that. If he had come out and asked his people "Hey would you rather live in a Democracy or a Dictatorship?" the answer would have been clear. He's still not selling it like that, and if you were to ask your average Putin supporter, they would without a doubt say that they live in a free Democracy.
The bottom line is that your average voter is gullible and really doesn't have a clue. Yes, I'm an Elitist.
Perfect example of what I just mentioned.
Fact is, when Putin de-democratized Russia, it wasn't just accepted, it was in fact popular. By every means. Anyone who says otherwise is simply ignorant of Russian culture, politics and history. Yeltsin was hated by Russians for being too democratic, too much of a pushover, and perceived as being a leader who caved to west on demand.
The reality of Russia is in it's precedents. Forever, Russia has been held together and ruled by strong leaders who establish their authority through force. Not until Yeltsin was this precedent changed. After his popularity tanked he was forced to hand over power to an ambitious man named Putin.
Now sure, not everyone in Russia likes Putin. Plenty of Russians hate him. But those same Russians who hate him are probably not the democracy loving people that the US government would want you to think they are.
In fact, the largest political parties in the Russian Federation are as follows (in order of popularity):
1. United Russia
2. Communist Party of the Russian Federation
3. Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
Now let's take a look at these top 3, since they account for the huge, huge majority or Russia.
#1: We have Putins party. The original democratic party and rulers of Russia with an iron fist. What else can be said that you don't already know?
#2: We have the communist party. I don't think I need to tell anyone, Russian or otherwise how badly communism failed. Is going back to that a better option?
#3: Despite it's name, the LDPR is basically the same as NSDP. It's a party of far right nationalists who believe in imperialism and racial supremacy. Want to repeat WW2? Vote for them.
So with all that out of the way, the simple reality of Russia is that it's being held together by a corrupt president, or dictator if that's what we want to call him. Russia is just as diverse as the US, but it's not a 2 party system over there led by the same exact agenda. It's a much more real democracy where voting for someone else actually means some very serious change.
So I would ask all critics of Putin, if not him, then who? Who else would you feel more comfortable with in charge? Who do you think Russians would feel more comfortable with in charge? The Communists? The Nazis? I think Putin is the middle ground we all want.
Problem for the US government, is that he isn't a puppet like Yeltsin was. Putin does what he actually thinks is best for Russia. Not just what we tell him is best.
In this regard, he has my respect. Even despite my disagreeing with many of his policies and actions.