Sure. The only problem is that he's the head of a foreign state -- and people like William Kristol and the Richards Gere and Perle have no standing in criticizing him for pursuing Russia's "war on terror" as he sees fit.
If I were Putin, I'd ask the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya what they think of Abraham Lincoln's methods of dealing with our Confederate separatists.
Putin would be making no point if he did.
There is no comparison between a separationist Russian state and a separationist U.S. state during the time of Lincoln.
The people of Chechnya were forcibly conquered and incorporated into Russia. The people of the Southern States of the U.S. chose to become part of the U.S. Union.
The inhabitants of the U.S. have their right unalienable rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. The inhabitants of Russia -- do not.