AP

TIKHVIN CLAD in a bomber jacket, Vladimir Putin walks briskly into a new railway car plant, greets workers and pushes a button to launch production.

The prime minister’s tightly choreographed appearance at the factory in the northwestern city of Tikhvin got top billing on all three Kremlin-controlled networks‚ and points to his campaign strategy as he tries to recapture the presidency in March.

With the urban middle class turning against him, Putin is focusing increasingly on his traditional blue-collar and rural support base, which tends to get all of its news from state TV. Factory workers, farmers, public servants and the elderly form the backbone of the Russian leader’s political following.

“The higher educated and the well-to-do tend to have a more critical attitude toward the government,” said Alexei Grazhdankin, deputy head of the Levada Center, a leading independent polling agency.

“They have more self-esteem, feel more involved in the political process and demand respect from the authorities.” Putin’s troubles with the urban elites deepened dramatically in December as tens of thousands of Muscovites joined anti-Putin demonstrations to express outrage over fraud in a parliamentary election. A third big protest rally is set for this weekend.

Putin, who served eight years as president before shifting into the prime minister’s job four years ago because of term limits, is seeking to win back the presidency on March 4‚ meaning he could extend his hold on power until 2018.

Putin has cast the rally organisers as US stooges working to weaken Russia and has tried to turn bluecollar workers against the urban protesters by portraying them as rich spoiled youth, contemptuous of the majority of Russian citizens.

“Never before has Putin taken the desperate step of stirring up confrontation in society under the slogan ‘Russia against Moscow,’” said Liliya Shevtsova, a senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment’s Moscow office.

She and other analysts warn that such tactics could split society and raise tensions.

The news broadcasts of Putin directing the Tikhvin plant’s opening are part of a daily pattern. Almost every evening, state television shows him meeting with preselected groups of ordinary Russians or giving orders to officials.

“It’s intended to show that he is on top of things, follows all the developments, is always in charge,” said Alexei Makarkin of the Center for Political Technologies, an independent think tank.

Putin’s appearances also seem designed to show that all is well in the country. The pristine new plant in Tikhvin, for example, served to project an image of Russia as a future technological powerhouse, even though the economy continues to rely almost exclusively on exports of oil, gas and other raw materials.

The plant’s workers were proud of their state-of-the-art robotic equipment and gleaming shop floors: “It’s the most modern such plant not only in Russia, but in all of Europe,” boasted worker Sergei Rozenbakh.

Even though the bulk of blue-collar workers continue to support Putin, a significant share back the communist and nationalist candidates and many are undecided.