A democratic leader must be popular, for unpopularity raises the prospect of electoral defeat and that undermines a leader's capacity to influence others within government. A US president runs a permanent campaign to boost popularity and to reduce opposition to White House initiatives. In Moscow, Vladimir Putin is doing the same. But governing is about policy as well as popularity: to govern is to choose.

Initially, a president's popular support reflects the breadth of his electoral appeal. By winning an absolute majority in the first-round presidential ballot, Vladimir Putin took office with well above average support, embracing individuals who did not vote for him or did not bother to vote. He has maintained this for the first half of his term in office. When difficulties arise, support also depends on the intensity with which citizens approve or disapprove of a president. Putin's appeal across the political spectrum deprives him of the dedicated commitment and opposition that Margaret Thatcher's political principles attracted, while giving him greater, but less intense support. A president's support must also be durable. Vladimir Putin emerged on the political scene so abruptly that the durability of his popularity was untested before he became president.

After years of paying the costs of transformation, the Russian people initially had very high expectations for the success of Vladimir Putin in promoting the dictatorship of law.