They misread Putin. He’s not a nationalist. He was a communist. When that gig wasn’t working out, he needed a new one. As Milosevic had done, Putin traded in his commie ideology for chauvinism under the guise of nationalism. Like Napoleon and other tyrants to include Hitler, he even pays some symbolic homage to the Christian Church, while making sure it doesn’t oppose his kleptocracy.
A real nationalist would care about the economy, just like Trump. Russia’s economy is pretty weak so Putin has to distract the people with great shows of force