Yes, he is essentially pro Western which is why the NED funded the Levada center.

Putin had a meeting with the other candidates yesterday, by the way. I think that opposition is likely kept out of power by various means.

Especially important if the opposition is funded by the UK and US, like Navalny's Democratic Alternative. Navalny's highest national polling was 9% with many Russians unaware of who he is. He was a creation of the West, and an unsuccessful one at that.

The Russian communist party functions in Russia's political scene and gets some significant support from the population, though it is far less popular than Putin. We might consider them to function as controlled opposition.

But Putin himself doesn't control everything. Just read Medvedev's scathing speech criticizing him as Putin sat on the stage next to him.

We can criticize their system and say it isn't a fair system so that's why Putin is popular. But let's not pretend he isn't popular. And let's not forget that Putin brought Russia out of the economic collapse of the 90s and into the fifth largest economy. He did so by regaining state control of key industries that had been sold off cheaply in the 90s, under the direction of a team of Harvard economists via US NGOs.

Russians appreciate having jobs, housing and food which they didn't have when the country was sold out in the 90s. They credit Putin with putting the country back on its feet.