You are right in not seeing Russia operating like China. The Chinese have shown themselves to be WAY more sophisticated and successful. And "easing out" [of Yeltsin] just serves to illustrate my point: Yeltsin exists on Putin's sufferance, with amnesty/legal immunity, pension etc. And what would be the limits of that sufferance if Yeltsin got himself an idea to try and get back in power? -Anything from an [alcohol-related] "accident" to a show trial.
Put you described an adversarial system. I think the current Russian system is an 'Freemason' like system where deference is given to members and the members look out for each other.
I think in this way Putin and those around him in the Kremlin are Russian patriots - they really do want what is best for Russia - but they don't think they can trust those outside of their clique to be good Russians. I think they use the term 'siloviki'(??) to describe this clique - I don't know if that is the correct spelling or the proper word for this group.
They are arguably the only group from the old USSR that actually had any sort of competency and 'Esprit De Corp.'
They were never true Communists because by the 70s the 'siloviki' who had to implement the policies knew what the old leadership refused to accept as true (even if deep down inside they knew it) that Communism did not work. They wanted to keep the integrity of the USSR but not keep the Communism/Marxist ideology.