VLADIMIR Putin rose to power in the wake of Russia's economic collapse in 1998.
Like the Great Depression, the spectre of that financial meltdown, when vast swaths of Russia's middle class saw their savings wiped out, has haunted the population ever since. But unlike North Americans, for whom the Dirty Thirties are a historical relic from another time, Russians experienced this calamity but a decade ago.
Mr. Putin's mantra, restoring stability and strong leadership to an unsure nation, was just what many Russians wanted to hear.
Much has been said about the former KGB officer's ruthless methods for imposing "stability" on Russia, as Mr. Putin moved to roll back post-Soviet political freedoms and reasserted state control over many of the largest newly-privatized companies. By the time Mr. Putin had relinquished the presidency - albeit to his loyal supporter, Dimitry Medvedev, whom many consider a stand-in until now Prime Minister Putin runs again for the top office - he had consolidated an enormous amount of political power in his hands.
But despite the loss of freedoms, state takeover of the major television networks, brutal repression of dissidents, including critical journalists who often ended up murdered, and increasingly manipulated elections, the truth is Mr. Putin remained - despite even the unpopular Chechen wars - a popular figure in Russia.
A combination of a soaring economy which brought high employment - fuelled in recent years by ever-rising oil prices - meant Mr. Putin could lay claim to having delivered on his promises of stability and strong leadership in restoring Russia's image in the world as a powerful nation. His "extraordinary" feats so impressed Time that they named him their 2007 Person of the Year.
A short year later, it's all unravelling for Mr. Putin.
Oil has fallen precipitously since mid-summer. With the fall in crude has tumbled the rouble. Russia, in August sitting on the world's third largest foreign currency reserves thanks to years of booming oil prices, has since blown perhaps a third of that stash - as much as an estimated $160 billion - supporting the rouble, which has nonetheless fallen 18 per cent. That, in turn, has sparked a flight of capital as some experts say the rouble could drop another 25 per cent.
Russia's economy, which Mr. Putin has insisted would experience only "minimal" disruption from the global economic crisis, has in reality been hit hard. The stock market is down 80 per cent. Growth in the economy is flat. Perhaps a fifth of the workforce has been laid off, had wages cut or are on unpaid leave. Many employees' pay is in arrears and 50 per cent of those with jobs fear losing them in the next three months.
Fearing unrest, the Kremlin has abolished jury trials for serious crimes, including terrorism and treason. But treason was redefined in the new law so loosely that government can imprison anyone who dares criticize the state, say human rights experts, in a move similar to Stalin's Great Terror in the 1930s.
Mr. Stability's credibility has been rattled. Still, no one should underestimate what Mr. Putin is willing to do to maintain control in Russia.