The interests of Russia are inimical to those of ours. Why anyone would admire this KGB scum for any reason is a puzzle to me. He is a petty tyrant.
I assume you gave "grudging admiration" to Stalin, Hitler, Castro, and Mao for acting in their countries' interests.
If only. As the elected leader of 140m bloodthirsty Russians, I'd say he's done Hitler one better - he's actually won an outright electoral majority. He's also got the largest nuclear arsenal in the world at his disposal. We are fortunate only in that, as an industrial power, Russia is a veritable speck and nothing like prewar Germany.
It's been just over 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, roughly the same time interval as that after the Armistice and the resumption of hostilities in Europe. The one thing both periods have in common is the collapse of an ancien regime under foreign pressure, without any feeling by the loser's citizenry that they had actually been defeated, and certainly without any change to the "Germany/Russia over all" attitude that preceded the collapse. Russians seem to believe Gorbachev stabbed them in the back. When historians look back upon this time, it's possible they will write of a new Axis composed of China, Russia and its weak sisters, North Korea and Iran, and yet another war to end all wars.
You are a fantasist.
My admiration of Putin is ONLY rooted in the fact that he acts in the interest of Russia. I would like to have a President who acts in the interest of The United States.
You knew that. You are just being combative and furthering an argumentative position. Go soak your head.