Putin to defend handling of Russian crisis

By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will defend his handling of Russia's worst economic crisis in a decade on Monday and is likely to tell lawmakers there are signs the battered economy could be on the road to recovery.

Russia's $1.7 trillion economy is heading into recession after a decade of rapid growth. More than a million people have lost jobs since the start of December with unemployment rates at a five-year high.

But officials say there are signs of hope after falling oil prices stabilized.

Putin, who as Kremlin chief from 2000 to 2008 presided over the longest boom Russians have seen for decades, is obliged to report to parliament annually under constitutional changes ordered by President Dmitry Medvedev.

But he is unlikely to face a grilling in a house controlled by the ruling party he heads and analysts said he would use the speech to underline his status as a leader with influence on a par with the Kremlin chief.

"There will of course be no dressing-down for Putin and do not expect lots of criticism of the prime minister," said Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist and expert on the Kremlin elite.

"It is more about PR (public relations) for Putin to show that he is a powerful leader who sees the light at the end of the tunnel. He wants to show the population that he is still a leader, an equal leader."

Medvedev has criticized the government several times for its slow response to the crisis, though he has stopped short of direct criticism of the man who groomed him to be president.