As soccer's World Cup draws to a close in Brazil, Russia is about to spend billions on hosting the next tournament in 2018.
Putin reportedly plans to spend $20 billion on Russia's hosting of the 2018 competition, reports NBC news.
His ambitious plan will see stadiums and infrastructure built over an area stretching 1,500 miles from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Ural Mountains that form the gateway to Asia.
The event is expected to follow the economic blueprint of this year’s Sochi Winter Games - the most expensive Olympics in history with estimated overall price tag of $51 billion.
Putin certainly tapped into the emotive idea of Russia's people rising to the challenge when he spoke about his hometown of Leningrad being bombed in World War II after the country's successful bid was announced.
"There was no electricity, no heat and no food during winter, but there was football," he recalled.
Orysia Lutsevych, a Russia expert at the London think tank Chatham House, agrees. "Many Russians feel the country needs these big events to regain its prestige," she said.
"Of course you can find some expert who picks holes in these things, but this does not reflect the views of most people."
Following his annexation of Crimea in March, Putin’s popularity has scarcely been higher.
And eyeing presidential reelection in 2018 he may see the World Cup as an opportunity to increase his reputation as rebuilder of the Russian Empire and warrior against perceived historical injustices.
"After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia is trying to reinstate itself as a true global leader and this makes the case for hosting these big events," Lutsevych said.
"The country is quite outward looking in terms of caring what other countries think about it, despite what the West might think."
"World Cups are the biggest events in the world in terms of what people want to think about, but in GDP and nuts and bolts they are not big at all," Szymanski said.
"Although Russia's economy is stagnating, the World Cup is a drop in the bucket compared to something like its oil and gas industry."
