A hard-nosed president with one foot still in the shadows

Who is Vladimir Putin? That was the question that greeted the obscure, former KGB officer's sudden arrival in the Kremlin almost seven years ago, and it has returned to haunt Russia's suave but secretive president.

Following the radiation murder in London of Alexander Litvinenko, an exiled Russian secret agent who accused Mr Putin on his deathbed of killing him, people are asking again, and this time with considerable urgency. During his years in power Mr Putin, 54, has sharply narrowed the imperfect democracy he inherited, muzzled the media, cracked down on civil society and expanded the powers of the secret services.

The state Mr Putin has built looks increasing like a traditional Russian autocracy. But could it also be returning to the dark old Kremlin habit of striking out against enemies, real and imagined?

For many Russians, particularly in the beleaguered political opposition, the answer appears obvious.

'In Russia we have secret services that were, not long ago, involved in mass arrests and executions of political opponents, and most of this they kept secret,' said Alexei Simonov, head of the Glasnost Defence Foundation, an independent media watchdog. 'People in this country tend to blame power for everything that happens, and they have their reasons.'

Russian officials have denied any connection with Litvinenko's murder, and offered to assist British police in their inquiries. The pro-Kremlin media has paraded a variety of alternative theories for the ex-spy's death, including 'self-martyrdom' and a black market deal to buy radioactive materials that went wrong.