AGREED: Putin is a de facto dictator.
This article may help develop a base for discussion with paperclip:
Becoming a Successful Dictator & Fulfilled Psychopath For Dummies
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/becoming-successful-dictator-fulfilled-psychopath-dummies-cioch
papercliprippa
The funny thing is the people calling Putin a dictator seem to ignore Russia’s lack of BLM riots, grooming kids in schools and Russia’s lack of LGBTQ propaganda on their military social media pages