No they weren’t. But they created the climate. Putin is uniquely Russian and the image, the soul of what Russians want in their leader a “Stalin’’, a ‘’Man of Steel who rules with an iron fist’’.
That he is in such demand is telling; he is just the type that Russians yearn for when there are as many problems as Russia has. He’s a staunch Russian patriot and the Russians respond well to it and there’s a reason he is so successful with them. He’s tough and doesn’t try to be their friend, he cares more about results than being buddies with various factions.