Putin's first year

President Putin: At home on the world stage

By Caroline Wyatt in Moscow

After one year in office, Russian president Vladimir Putin is enjoying popularity ratings most western leaders would die for.

But while anything between 60% and 80% of Russians tell pollsters they would vote for him again, the jury is still out on exactly what he has achieved so far.

For the majority of the Russian public he is the strong leader they wanted - the president who has given them the stability they yearned for after years of turmoil under Boris Yeltsin.

Putin has cultivated an action man image

Mr Putin's image has been carefully spun as a man of action but also a thoughtful, modern politician, equally at ease at home or on the world stage, a leader unlikely to embarrass Russia abroad, as Mr Yeltsin frequently did.

Yet for all the progress made on Mr Putin's image, it is difficult to pin down any real achievements on the far reaching reforms promised by the Kremlin.

Income tax has been brought down to a flat rate of 13% but western investors complained that Russia's economic and legal systems still leave a lot to be desired.

The country's relative prosperity at the moment - at least in terms of what is in the government's coffers - is mainly due to high oil prices, but the economy itself is still stuck uncomfortably half way between the old Soviet system and a full free market.

Unlike Yeltsin Putin does not embarrass Russia abroad

The war in Chechnya, which helped bring Mr Putin to power, is still dragging on with no sign of peace in the near future.

The quick resolution promised by the Kremlin looks a long way off.

Likewise Mr Putin's promise to deal with the oligarchs, those who made a fortune through crony capitalism, appears to have been to have been only selectively fulfilled.

The main oligarch to suffer has been Vladimir Gusinsky, who just happens to own Russia's only independent TV station, NTV, which is often critical of the Kremlin.

Warnings from Russia's liberals about the potential threat to the freedom of the media do not seem to bother most ordinary Russians.

They are simply delighted to have a president who works hard and stays sober, a leader who has rescued Russia from the roller coaster ride of the Yeltsin years.