If you look at the GDP per capita of Russia - it fell from $16,000 in 2013 to $10,000 in 2020 -- and there was little change in Russia's population at that time
Even if we take that in rubles, not in USD (to discount currency fluctuations, Russia's GDP per capita fell by 16% between 2013 and 2020 -- during this same period there was eonomic stagnation, some mega projects, some fancy events like Sochi Olympics and World Cup 2018, controversial and poorly thought decisions during 2014 crisis in Ukraine, which later proved to be wrong. Economic sanctions by the West, half-hearted import substitution attempts. Unpopular pension age reform.
Since 2020, he has damaged the Russian economy irrevocably to stay in power.
As I've said before, pre-2014, Russia was winning Ukraine the same way it was winning Belarus - through soft power. There was the inevitability that the Russyski mir would absorb the two by the simple fact that people were consuming Muscowy's media.
If Putin had not invaded in 2022, then he would have won. But hubris got to him
No one is asking you to move to Russia (although you’d be smart to do that...you guys will understand why in about a decade as EU social policies go into full effect).
As to whether Putin has been good for Russia, Putin’s results in his last election, which was within about 5 points of Western polling there, likely says more to answer that question than some unnamed operative on FR.
“If you look at the GDP per capita of Russia - it fell from $16,000 in 2013 to $10,000 in 2020”
The 2014 invasion of Ukraine was a watershed for the Russian economy, but it pales in comparison to the effects of the 2022 invasion. Putin is driving Russia to become Novo North Korea.