MOSCOW - From a Western perspective, Vladimir Putin's days as president of Russia should be numbered: The ruble has lost more than half its value, the economy is in crisis and his aggression in Ukraine has turned the country into an international pariah. And yet most Russians see Putin not as the cause, but as the solution.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
Associated Press: Poll shows 80 percent back Putin even as ruble falls
A man speaks on his mobile phone under a board listing foreign currency rates against the Russian ruble outside an exchange office in central Moscow, on Dec. 17, 2014.
