Czar Putin? Will president Vladimir Putin's muscle-flexing at home and abroad ignite a new cold war between Russia and the U.S.?

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: Cover story

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been described as a ruthless dictator trampling on democracy and "the most dangerous man in the world." His increasingly authoritarian rule has some calling him Czar Putin, suggesting he's acting like the imperial rulers of Russia's past.

To many Russians, however, Putin is a hero--a strongman who's restored Russia to its former glory as a world power. He cultivates this macho image by posing with tigers, showing off his judo skills, and riding horses shirtless. Polls show that 87 percent of Russians support Putin and his policies. (President Obama's approval rating is around 40 percent.) "No one will ever attain military superiority over Russia," Putin boasted in a recent speech. He added, "We are ready to take up any challenge and win."

Love him or hate him, Putin casts an increasingly long shadow, even as Russia faces an economic crisis at home that could test his grip on power.

A New Cold War?

In the past few years, relations between Russia and the United States have deteriorated to their lowest point since the Cold War, which ended in 1991. That makes it harder for the U.S. and Russia to cooperate on many important global issues such as the civil war in Syria, fighting Islamic terrorism, and preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Some of the tensions stem from Russia's slide back toward authoritarianism, which is deeply rooted in its history. For 350 years, the country was ruled by powerful czars. In 1917, the Russian Revolution ushered in seven decades of brutal Communist rule under the Soviet Union--America's Cold War foe.

The years that followed the Soviet collapse in 1991 were marked by chaos and economic upheaval. When Putin (a former agent in the KGB, the Soviet spy agency) became president in 1999, most Russians were relieved to have a strong leader.

Once in charge, however, Putin began gradually consolidating political power, tightening controls over the press, and passing laws that give authorities more power to crack down on anti-government street demonstrations. A few years ago, he even jailed members of an all-female punk band for singing anti-Putin songs.

At the same time, Russia's economy boomed, driven by a surge in the price of oil, Russia's biggest export. Most Russians seemed willing to give up some freedoms in exchange for prosperity.

In 2008, Putin found a way around the term-limit law that prevented him from running for a third consecutive term: He handpicked a successor and had himself appointed prime minister, which allowed him to continue calling the shots from behind the scenes. Then in 2012, Putin won a third term as president in a disputed election. (If Putin wins re-election when his six-year term* expires in 2018, he could end up leading Russia for a total of 25 years--longer than...