Five myths about Vladimir Putin

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1. Putin's expected election triumph will set him up to be president for life.

It's true that during his presidency and his tenure as prime minister, Putin has ruled Russia like a latter-day czar. He has ended direct elections for regional governors, subdued unruly oligarchs, marginalized political opposition, and neutered the judiciary, the news media and Russia's legislature, the Duma. But Putin's neo-czarist system has been sputtering for some time. Slower economic growth, crime, corruption and a bloated bureaucracy have led many Russians to say "Dostali!" ("We are fed up!")

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