Vladimit III?

The article discusses how Vladimir Putin's meddling in the Ukraine elections may have hurt his image, but he remains unchallenged in Russia. On the face of it, he seems humiliatingly weak. Vladimir Putin's intervention in Ukraine's election was one of his biggest mistakes as Russia's president. If Victor Yushchenko wins Ukraine's re-vote on December 26th, as seems likely, the waning of Russia's sway in its erstwhile "sphere of influence" will be embarrassingly obvious. At home, the seemingly interminable Yukos saga may be reaching its terminus. Yet the Kremlin's campaign against what was Russia's biggest oil company has been so mishandled that, even as it has dramatised Mr Putin's authority, it has also made him look amateurish and indecisive. Appearances can be misleading, however. Mr Putin's shadow post-Soviet empire may look more tenebrous than ever. Yet in Russia itself, the emperor still has clothes. The argument that Mr Putin will stay on is simple. Having accumulated power so determinedly, he and his entourage are unlikely to give it away.