Hi and welcome to a special edition of the seriously podcast with me Testament.

Now the Russian air strikes over Syria

have been a game changer bolstering the position of President Assad and now Western

leaders are in close talks with Vladimir Putin. In a series of reports for the today program, Moscow correspondent

Steve Rosenberg has been looking at the effect of Russia's involvement on President Putin's

standing at home and abroad. When Putin ordered the airstrikes in Syria he promised the air campaign

would make Russia safer. Since then so-called Islamic State has blown up a jet

with Russian holidaymakers over Sinai and Turkey has shut down a Russian bomber.

So, are Russians beginning to doubt Putin's decision?

In his first report, Steve Rosenberg drove two hours north of Moscow to find out how Russians view their president.

In Russia there is something magical about the early winter snow.

It transforms muddy fields and dilapidated farmhouses

into a fairy tale, a snow globe to pick up and shake and stare at. Of course every fairy tale has its heroes and

70 miles from Moscow so does this one. Victor Krestinin shows me his cows and then reads me his

couplets. Victor is the poet farmer of Volkalumsk. Here's one of his verses.

Be you a genius or a VIP, there's no wonder. We all end up six feet under. We all get our just

desserts, I tell. Some go to heaven and some to hell.

From the way Victor describes his president,

there'll be no fire and brimstone

for Vladimir Putin.

I support Putin and the way he's hammering the terrorists in Syria,

Victor tells me.

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