He’s doing what he’s supposed to do: He’s working to make Russia strong and to look after the interests of Russia and Russians. He really ought to give no consideration to what outsiders think of him. That’s what real leaders do.
Unfortunately, you are right but it does make a difference about how the US perceives him and how they react to his actions. To the US, he is a thug but to his country, he is an artful leader...so, to each their own... Leadership has many thorns...