POPULAR AUTOCRATS

[...] in some countries where public sentiment does not favor the West, authoritarian incumbents can also succeed in preventing the opposition from uniting by unleashing anti-Western rhetoric to stymie an opposition challenge. [...] Putin's skillful use of the media helped both to raise his popularity to new heights and to keep it there. [...] the Yukos case notwithstanding, Putin did not establish state control over the economy in order to distribute patronage.