Probably happiness. They've taken up the mantel of protecting Christianity and Christians in this world, you have to amuse that God is on their side.
I think, Putin sees an opening in situations like now in Syria and he exploits it. That is all. While most of Russians are nominally Orthodox Christians, the decay of communist rule has gone deep. The statistics of church attendance, or of familiarity with basic Christian tenets, or of private prayer are awful, — all under 10%. Communist leaders are rising in posthumous popularity; there is a new cult of Stalin afoot. This is not a human material to protect Christianity with.