The West has long misread Putin, based on what they wanted him to be, or feared he might be. In truth, as the old German saying is “Russia remains Russia”, Putin is a creature of Russia.
The left secretly hoped and hopes that he will return Russia to something socialist or communist, and the right fears the same. But both are wrong.
Putin made it clear, early on, that Russia remains Russia. He does not despise the Tsars, nor the communists who ruled Russia, nor capitalism. In fact, he feels free to pick and choose what he likes from Russian history, in molding the new Russia.
So, from the perspective of a Russian president, what does he want to do? Well, he shares with the American president (at least in the past), a desire for his nation to be economically prosperous and militarily powerful.
At the same time, he wants to give the Russian people what they want. And this is night and day different from what the American people want. To start with, the Russian people are somewhat xenophobic, fearing outsiders, and Slavophilic, meaning they like their Slavic roots they share with other Slavic peoples.
The Russian people are also rediscovering their profoundly religious beliefs of the Russian Orthodox church. Not too long ago, Putin even convinced atheist Cuba to allow the construction of a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Havana. This is a side of Putin rarely seen in the West, as the secular leader of a very Christian people, with very traditional moral values.
The Russian people tend to vacillate between thinking of themselves as European, and thinking of themselves as Asian. As someone once observed, a Russian in Siberia only thinks of Paris—in Paris, only of Siberia.
The xenophobia runs deep, as well. This is why there is no great trans-European highway running to Moscow. And even the railroad lines are not compatible, cargo and passengers having to transfer at the border. All Russian leaders remember the invasions from the West, from the Teutonic Knights and the Swedes, to Napoleon Bonaparte and the Nazis.
Putin is likewise more than aware that his nation only has twice as many Christians as it does Muslims. He sees an alliance with Iran going back to old Tsarist days.
I can recommend the truly amazing movie called “Russian Ark”, which depicted highlights of Russian history, within perhaps their greatest museum, the Hermitage. And every bit of that weighs heavily on Putin.
Russia remains Russia.
“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.” - Winston Churchill (1939)
Nothing has changed.
There seem to be many here who think of Prime Minister (past President) Putin as some sort of Communist and head of the KGB, when the truth is that he is now a committed Orthodox Christian, and his mid-level job in the Soviet-era intelligence agency had more to do with economic analysis (sort of like lots of accountants work for the FBI, which doesn't make them the head of the FBI).
“The Russian people are also rediscovering their profoundly religious beliefs of the Russian Orthodox church. Not too long ago, Putin even convinced atheist Cuba to allow the construction of a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Havana. This is a side of Putin rarely seen in the West, as the secular leader of a very Christian people, with very traditional moral values.”
You nailed it right on...I see the exact things. I guess not a lot of people know it but Vladimir Vladimirovitch also had an authentic wooden orthodox church built at his country home a few years ago.
At least the Russians “know who they are”.. seems we have lost any real sense of ourself as a nation.