Russia: One Hundred Days of Putin - "a leader who brought Russia back from chaos to stability"

Vladimir Putin

As Russia marks 100 days since the return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin on Tuesday, there is one thing that his supporters and leaders of the unprecedented protests against his rule agree on – the former KGB officer hasn’t changed in the slightest.

“In essence, nothing has altered as far as Putin’s politics go,” former United Russia lawmaker and Public Chamber member Sergei Markov told RIA Novosti. “Putin said more than once that he would continue to carry out the same policies that voters are familiar with - that’s why they elected him for a third term.”

Markov’s views were echoed in part by opposition figure Ilya Yashin, who served a short jail sentence this summer over attempts to establish an Occupy-style protest camp in downtown Moscow.

Note EU-Digest: regardless of some of the critique against Mr. Putin it must be recognized that Russia did not fall apart in chaos, has achieved stability and made great progress in many areas as a result of the strong leadership qualities of Mr. Putin following the break up of the Soviet Union.

Read more: One Hundred Days of Putin | Features, Opinion & Analysis | RIA Novosti