But is Vladimir Putin a Fidel Castro or is he an Augusto Pinochet?
From what I can see, things are pointing more to the latter than they are to the former - reference his economic moves (flat tax among them). Yeltsin did some good things, but he also had some serious problems, and I think his drinking DID interfere with his ability to govern - his only saving grace being he was better than the Communists on the one hand and folks like Zhirinovsky on the other.
Putin's not an ideal option, and things bear watching, but I do not think the Soviet Union is making a comeback. I think the comparisons to Pinochet are more accurate and will proceed on that assumption.
I think that Putin is much closer to De Gaulle than Pinochet.