"Paul, I am afraid you are confused."
Oh, don't worry about me, I'm happy none the less.
"Since Putin became President, Russia's economy has significantly improved."
It couldn't get much worse. During the Yeltsin years oil and gas where cheap. With the raise of energy resources also the Russian econ very slowly climbed out of the complete and utter darkness. It has no substantial econ however and without those resources it would be even more dead as it was during Gorb.
It was Yeltsin who did the hard work.
"But Putin changed all that. He has:"
"1. Restored the vertical balance of power."
It is very much a structure like during the USSR.
"2. Balanced the budget and instituted a flat tax."
He narrowly balanced the budget with oil money. There is no substantial growth in any other industry.
"3. Eliminated low level corruption. Police no longer demand bribes, and the state's monopoly on enforcing business contracts has been restored."
That is so untrue. Bribing is a way of life for bureaucrats and very often the police forces. The state monopoly on enforcing business contracts causes huge waste and inefficient corporations.
"4. Significantly grew the economy. Nominal GDP more than doubled under Putin's presidency, average salaries increased from $80 to $640, the middle class grew from 8 million to 55 million people, and poverty fell to 14% from 30%."
Those are official numbers -so not to trust - and the time you refer to is the complete chaos after ussr collapse. Its a bad comparison if anything. Despite the huge amounts of raw material and energy resources, a great amount of skilled educated workers desperate to find work, the countries econ did not grow as it should have.
"Now it's true that Putin's regime is authoritarian."
We do not deny that now do we?
"He has dealt with oligarchs who have misbehaved,"
Misbehaved means not part of his powercirckel.
"and replaced them with professional colleagues he trusts."
Professional? Where do you get that nonsence from? He picks them for loyalty or influence but hardly ever for competence. Many of those rich people are rich because of Poutin.
"Secondly, Putin isn't afraid to control the legislature with material incentives. Someone in the legislature who misbehaves may notice that their Moscow apartment or salary is withdrawn."
That is called corruption. People should be rewarded in relation to their work and effectiveness instead.
"Thirdly, Putin has shown a willingness to assassinate his most irritating opponents, rig elections, and use force to put down a demonstration."
Continuing the legacy of the USSR.
"However, unlike the totalitarian regime of Stalin or the weak regimes of Khrushchev, Gorbachev, or Yeltsin, the character of Putin's regime is moderate and closer to czarist Russia."
He is far weaker, as he can only slowly proceed to a more totalitarian and closed regime without uprisings. But he does non the less.
"Putin is like a referee to the elite. He settles their disputes, and maintains the balance of power between them by manipulating them to compete for his favor."
Why is that a good thing?
"The first is strong leadership and Stalinist-style brute force. Stalin was foolish and would have suffered a coup, had it not been for Hitler's depopulation efforts during the invasion of the USSR."
I doubt it. A coup could only come from the top, not from the bottom.
"The second is the circumstances under which democracy is possible. You seem to think it's possible to create a liberal democracy by simply organizing the government that way."
That is what you presume but it isn't true.
"It's possible that developments in Russia are moving towards a democracy in the decades ahead, but forgive my skepticism about the practicality of liberal democracy in the present."
It has always been your opinion for over 10 years that an authoritarian regime is better a democracy, so I can't act surprised.
"Without an individual strong enough to serve as a referee between the elite, they will fight like rats in the sack."
They do so in every democracy on earth.
"Putin has not depressed economic development or created a command economy to increase his control"
He does it on a large scale. His bureaucracy almost openly asks money from small and big entrepreneurs and if they don't pay, they get a visit from the police or his militant youth. As much as one in six of the self employed in certain sectors are in jail, and no its not because of fraud.
He is nationalising on a large scale because its the only way to gain more control and keep his unstable regime alive. The soviets knew that, and he does to.
"or buy the loyalty of his supporters like the majority of dictators tend to do."
He buys the loyalty of many with oil and gas money he invests in large wastefull projects. I cannot understand you said such a thing.
"Neither has Putin assumed totalitarian control of the media."
Most of the media is heavily censored and he uses the state budged for his own propaganda machine. The few free media left is victim of many attacks.
"While it's monitored and guided to serve his objectives, it's much more free than other authoritarian regimes."
That doesn't mean its free.
"Articles and political cartoons critical of Putin are occasionally circulated with little backlash from Putin's government. Moreover, Putin participates in press conferences, and although he restricts the journalists who are permitted, only some topics are completely censored (like Chechnya). Additionally, one way he deals with critical journalists in press conferences is to call on supportive or moderate journalists to either provide comical relief or change the subject."
That only means his regime is weaker as those in the times of the USSR.
"In totality, Putin has governed moderately and has been much more consistent with liberal principles than other authoritarian leaders."
He had no choice and he is rapidly reverting everything.
