Putin to run for Russian Presidency

[Middle-aged Europe]

"Dictator" is a (slight) hyperbole.

Russia is a illiberal democracy with a one-party dominant system.

But it's what a majority of Russians want, apparently. Which is of course what makes it both  "democratic" and "unfree".

[Middle-aged Europe]

Even before Putin, Western-style democrats had it very hard in Russia. However, he made sure that it would be virtually impossible for any democratic opposition to arise in the future. As a result, Soviet-style communists and ultra-nationalists remained as the only significant opposition.

The end result is that Russia has a multi-party system without any democratic parties in which Putin looks like the least of all of evils compared to the alternatives at hand. Very clever of him.