So long as President Vladimir Putin maintains an orderly state and effective welfare system, he can probably count on the support of most Russians, irrespective of his authoritarian centralisation of power. But for the first time in his five years in power, Mr Putin has had to face widespread street protests by ordinary pensioners and veterans over the botched introduction of reforms to monetise in-kind benefits on public transport.

Mr Putin reacted this week by saying he stuck to the principle of the reform. He also attacked his leftwing communist and rightwing liberal democrat opponents for the way they contributed in the 1990s to loading the state with new welfare liabilities but also to depriving it (through giveaway privatisations) of resources to meet these liabilities.