‘Putin was a communist. Now he’s a Russian Nationalist. It’s an open question on whether he is religious but he realizes the importance of religion in society so that is why he has worked to reestablish the Russian Orthodox Church’s place in the Russian society.’
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Yup, but I’d say he’s more a pragmatic opportunist than a devotee of any political order. He just enjoys being the boss of what is now a gangster/capitalist nation. Being a realist, he kind of becomes the power drunk blind squirrel who’s finding a nut of universal truth every now & then. Like most Russians, he does have regret over losing the huge geographic & societal swag the USSR enjoyed.
If the Czar was still in charge, Putin would have worked for the Okhrana, instead of the KGB. It was never about ideology with Putin.