Moscow: President Vladimir Putin emerged from a three-day hostage crisis with his popularity intact and his image as a strong leader boosted despite the high number of casualties among the rescued hostages.

While apologising to the families of hostages who died following the special forces assault launched on October 26, the Russian leader made no excuses for refusing to give in to the Chechen captors who demanded an end to the war in the Southern republic.

"We achieved the near-impossible, saving hundreds, hundreds of people. We proved that Russia cannot be brought to its knees," he said in a televised address to the nation.

The death toll in the hostage seizure launched by a Chechen suicide mission on October 23 rose to 117 on October 27 and officials admitted that all but two of these died from the effects of a psychothropic gas pumped by special forces into the theatre to prepare the storming.

But Putin's line seemed to go down well with a majority of Russians who gave him credit for what they saw as a strong performance.

As the independent Moscow Echo radio station ran a programme devoted to what had gone wrong during the release operation early on October 27, it was flooded by calls from indignant listeners defending an assault they perceived as successful.

"For once Russia does something right, you have to throw mud at it," an infuriated caller said.

Others said that the assault saved hundreds of lives and that the decision to launch it had "restored the dignity" of Russia.