Prior to a certain point everyone thought that Putin was OK. He was seen as a sound alternative to the Communists and someone who could clean up the mafia. It is about 2008, and perhaps we can point to the war on Georgia as a turning point, that it became clear that this guy was working on a USSR 2.0 project.
John Randolph of Roanoke used to warn about King Numbers.
A tyranny of 51% of people or 51% of ones representatives, or a large noble clan, or a society of limited numbers or a single royal family or a single despot are all still tyranny.
Only a limited Republic of laws with checks and balances can give Ordered Liberty.