During the height of Russia's energy boom, Vladimir Putin's poll numbers routinely hovered in the stratosphere. In the fall of 2008, with Putin basking in the glow of victory in a short, easy war with Georgia, with oil at $140 a barrel, and with Russia's economy chugging along at 5% growth, roughly 9 in 10 Russians approved of his performance. 9 in 10! Putin was arguably the single most popular politician in the world, and his position appeared completely unassailable.