MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin used a meeting of his powerful political party to take center stage Thursday, casting himself as an indispensable leader even as the global financial meltdown threatens the achievements of his boom-time presidency.

At the first congress of his United Russia party since May, when Dmitry Medvedev succeeded him as Russia’s president, Putin eclipsed his protege with a rousing speech to party faithful in a massive atrium off Red Square.