President Vladimir Putin "treats society, like a psychiatrist", says Alexander Oslon, a Russian opinion pollster, explaining the Russian leader`s enduring popularity. Mr Putin is soothing Russia`s fears, and lifting it out of its chronic depression, thinks Mr Olson. If so, I only hope Mr Putin can keep some consulting hours free for his neighbouring presidents, several of whom also sometimes seem in need of a psychiatrist`s attentions. In the case of Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus , Mr Putin may already have scored some success in arresting what had previously seemed a hopeless case of megalomania.

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