JohnyBoy, I have both French and Russian ancestry and deep current relational ties to Russia. It is a place I will likely live again in the future.
Putin has whitewashed the Soviet part of Russia’s past and that is a big no-no to me as a Christian. I am critical of his narrative and did not resort to ad hominem attacks. For someone who claims to care so much about the faith, you sure don’t sound...I mean write like one. Tone is mean. Soviet even.
I think Putin’s sympathies follow one rather simple rule. Revolution made Russian Empire smaller so he doesn’t want to talk about it. Stalin’s time brought Russian Empire to the largest size ever so now Kremlin propaganda is rehabilitating Stalin. Collapse of the Soviet Union made the empire smaller again. Putin calls it the greatest geographical catastrophe of the last century.
Maybe not the full truth, but I believe the theme is there.