Real men in Russia never get nervous. Or if they do, they do not show it. And if there is anything that he wants his public to believe, it is that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is a real man. Still, the results of Sunday's parliamentary election must worry him.
His United Russia party was mauled in the polls. The strong man has been challenged and it is not clear how he will respond.
A measured response that tries to reconquer an angry and disaffected public could confirm his legacy as Russia's real post-Cold War leader. If he retreats to muscle-flexing and intimidation, he will likely be remembered as just another in the long history of Russian autocrats.