This would involve substantially mobilising public opinion in favour of economic and national recovery based on restored confidence. He may also benefit from the neutral stance adopted by the main Western leaders. According to Putin himself, the issue is no longer to catch up with capitalism in 20 years, as Nikita Khrushchev demanded in his day. Putin claims to be a realist. One step at a time.
Most observers agree on what needs to be done if that challenge is to be met.
That will mean tackling crime head-on and, even more importantly, the grey areas that currently dominate relations between the financial and political spheres. One of the main campaign issues is the redistribution of wealth. The gap between the nouveaux riches and the new poor, as they are called in Russia, is too wide. When Yevgeny Primakov was prime minister, he won broad political support by increasing officials' salaries. And economic stability will not in itself win over the population unless key sectors of the electorate feel tangible benefits.