I generally think you are judging the Russian economy in terms of an expat earning money abroad. I think actual economy is worse than it was 6 or 8 years ago but not by much.
As more the rest you are mostly right.
Putin is a target of an organized disinformation campaign similar to that against Trump but much more aggressive and longer lasting.
The problem is some people believe it. That includes younger people in Russia who don’t remember Communism or Yeltsin era.
That being said, I'm very observant how my native friends are able to live, especially those with good professions, and even that seems to keep getting better. Maybe its just in the Krasnodar Region, but it seems that pretty much anyone who wants a job can get one, including professionals.
One downside right now is that a lot of the smaller bazaars and markets are dying due to competition from the malls and big chain stores. This is hurting a certain (typically older) segment that used to make an excellent living as retail merchants (many doing exactly the same thing for years). Those that can adapt do well, the others are hurting a bit. In a nutshell, capitalism.