It’s even simpler. Politicians and public officials take bribes and will go on television to support and praise their benefactors.
I think its even simpler than that. Germans yearn for a strong leader. They don’t have one of their own, so they admire Putin.
I’ve visited Germany a few times and seen their artwork, especially the orgy of violence that is in the Residence in Munich. I think Germans are genetically mechanics and warriors—everything else flows from that.