In his inaugural address on Sunday, President Putin stated that his major aim was to make Russia a free, prosperous, strong and civilised country. All but the most fossilised Cold War dinosaur will wish him well in his task. A Russia in which the rights of the individual are fully respected and where people have the freedom to live in the geographical region of their choice would conform to the highest European standards to which it has often aspired. A prosperous Russia would have the confidence to rise above xenophobia, to give its people a standard of living equal to that enjoyed in other countries, and would enhance its political influence in the international arena.
A strong Russia would be far preferable to a Russia weakened to the extent of penury and instability that it has been in the last decade. A civilised Russia has in the past, and could in the future, provide cultural and intellectual stimulation on a global basis. It is, after all, the country which gave the world Tolstoy and Pushkin, Chekhov and Tchaikovsky. No country played a greater role in eliminating the threat posed to European civilisation by Nazism. But Russia also has a dark side to its history. Stalin may not have been Russian himself but his evil genius found strong, unqualified support from many Russians. Even the great human rights activist Andrei Sakharov has admitted he was reduced to tears on hearing of the dictator's death. Admiration for the "strong man" has many Russian adherents.
Authoritarianism flourished not only in the communist era. The Tsars ruled with absolute power from the days of Ivan the Terrible right into an era when constitutional monarchies had become the norm elsewhere. At no stage during those despotic regimes was Russia a prosperous country by international standards. It is important, therefore, that Mr Putin's aims be taken together rather than individually. A Russia that is at the same time free, prosperous, strong and civilised is the stated goal which should be supported by the international community. A Russia lacking any one of these qualities could end up losing them all.
There is a body of opinion which suggests that perhaps the most important element in the equation - freedom - can be sacrificed in order to achieve prosperity and strength. Some of those who advocate this policy are among Mr Putin's advisers. The first domino to fall under such a course of action would be the aspiration of building a civilised society. The others could quickly follow. There is little evidence that the deprivation of human rights creates a climate in which economies prosper. For every authoritarian State that flourishes there are many others which languish in deepest poverty.
In current economic circumstances there may be a temptation to attempt to resolve Russia's economic problems by methods which promise fast and spectacular results. If there is any country on earth that should be wary of great economic experiments, it is Russia.