Editing Vladimir Putin (section)

== Assessments ==
[[File:Z_symbol_on_a_billboard.jpg|thumb|[[Z (military symbol)|Z symbol]] on a billboard reads Russian: {{lang|ru|За Путина}} ({{literally|For Putin}}), 24 September 2022.]]

Assessments of Putin's character as a leader have evolved during his long presidency. His shifting of Russia towards autocracy and weakening of the system of representative government advocated by [[Boris Yeltsin]] has met with criticism.<ref>{{cite web|first = Alec|last = Luhn|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/06/vladimir-putin-15-ways-he-changed-russia-world |title = 15 Years of Vladimir Putin: 15 Ways He Has Changed Russia and the World |website = [[The Guardian]] |date = 6 May 2015 }}</ref> Russian dissidents and western leaders now frequently characterise him as a "dictator". Others have offered favourable assessments of his impact on Russia.

[[Otto von Habsburg]], the last [[List of heirs to the Austrian throne|crown prince]] of [[Austria-Hungary]] and former [[Member of the European Parliament]], was an early critic of Putin. In a newspaper interview<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article237556125/Wladimir-Putin-Eiskalter-Buerokrat-Otto-von-Habsburg-warnte-schon-2003-vor-ihm.html |title=Wladimir Putin: 'Eiskalter Bürokrat' – Otto von Habsburg warnte schon 2003 vor ihm |newspaper=[[Die Welt]] |date=15 March 2022 |last1=Jäkel |first1=Lara}}</ref> in 2002 and in two speeches<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om2Fl9Y3I2I |title=Über Putin: Wie Otto von Habsburg ihn einschätzte (2003 und 2005) |website=[[YouTube]] |date=8 March 2022}}</ref> in 2003 and 2005, he warned of Putin as an "international threat", that he was "cruel and oppressive", and a "stone cold technocrat".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/interview-mit-otto-von-habsburg-putin-ist-ein-eiskalter-technokrat-1.750949 |title=Putin ist ein eiskalter Technokrat |first=Oliver Das |last=Gupta |website=Süddeutsche.de |date=5 November 2005}}</ref>

Putin was described in 2015 as a "dictator" by political opponent [[Garry Kasparov]],<ref>{{cite web|last = Kasparov |first = Garry |author-link = Garry Kasparov |title = Garry Kasparov: How the United States and Its Western Allies Propped Up Putin |url = https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/putin-russia-obama-kasparov/412804/ |website = [[The Atlantic]] |date = 28 October 2015 |access-date = 9 April 2016 }}</ref> and as the "Tsar of corruption" in 2016 by opposition activist and blogger [[Alexei Navalny]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-35388686|title=Alexei Navalny: 'Putin is the Tsar of corruption'|website=[[BBC]]|date=23 January 2016}}</ref> He was described as a "bully" and "arrogant" by former U.S. secretary of state [[Hillary Clinton]],<ref>{{cite web|first=Daniel |last=Strauss |url = http://www.politico.com/blogs/live-from-charleston-sc/2016/01/hillary-clinton-vladimir-putin-its-interesting-217926 |title = Hillary Clinton Describes Relationship With Putin: 'It's... interesting' |date = 17 January 2016 |website = [[Politico]] |access-date = 14 April 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite|web|title = Hillary Clinton: Putin is Arrogant and Tough |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wJXJWL8XgY |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160625091510/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wJXJWL8XgY&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date = 25 June 2016 |url-status = dead |via = YouTube |publisher = GPS with Fareed Zakaria |date = 27 July 2014 |access-date = 15 July 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Zakaria|first=Fareed|title = President Vladimir Putin on Sec. Hillary Clinton |url = http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/06/17/exp-gps-putin-on-hillary.cnn |publisher =[[CNN]] |access-date = 15 July 2016 }}</ref> and as "self-centered" by the [[Dalai Lama]].<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/11080133/Dalai-Lama-attacks-self-centred-Vladimir-Putin.html |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/11080133/Dalai-Lama-attacks-self-centred-Vladimir-Putin.html |archive-date = 10 January 2022 |url-access = subscription |url-status = live |title = Dalai Lama attacks 'self-centered' Vladimir Putin|last=Henderson|first=Barney|date = 7 September 2014 |work = The Daily Telegraph |access-date = 9 April 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2015, opposition politician [[Boris Nemtsov]] said that Putin was turning Russia into a "raw materials colony" of China.<ref>{{#invoke:cite|web|url = https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/05/decoding-vladimir-putins-plan-for-russia |title = Decoding Vladimir Putin's Plan |website = U.S. News & World Report |date = 5 January 2015 }}</ref>

Former U.S. secretary of state [[Henry Kissinger]] wrote in 2014 that the West has demonized Putin.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html |first = Henry |last= Kissinger |title = How The Ukraine Crisis Ends |newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] |date = 5 March 2014 |author-link = Henry Kissinger }}</ref> [[Egon Krenz]], former leader of East Germany, said the Cold War never ended, adding: "After weak presidents like [[Mikael Gorbachev|Gorbachev]] and [[Boris Yeltsin|Yeltsin]], it is a great fortune for Russia that it has Putin".<ref>{{cite news|last1 = Rosenberg |first1 = Steve |title = Berlin Wall anniversary: The 'worst night of my life' |work = [[BBC News]] |date = 9 October 2019 |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49971599 |access-date = 21 July 2020 }}</ref>

Many Russians credit Putin for reviving Russia's fortunes.<ref name="International Business Times-2014">{{cite web|url = http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mikhail-gorbachev-claims-vladimir-putin-saved-russia-falling-apart-1481065 |title = Mikhail Gorbachev claims Vladimir Putin saved Russia from falling apart |website = [[International Business Times]] |date = 27 December 2014 }}</ref> Former Soviet Union leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], while acknowledging the flawed democratic procedures and restrictions on media freedom during the Putin presidency, said that Putin had pulled Russia out of chaos at the end of the Yeltsin years, and that Russians "must remember that Putin saved Russia from the beginning of a collapse".<ref name="International Business Times-2014" /><ref>{{cite news|first = Doug |last = Struck |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120402218.html |title = Gorbachev Applauds Putin's Achievements |newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] |date = 5 December 2007 }}</ref> [[Chechen Republic]] head and Putin supporter, [[Ramzan Kadyrov]], stated prior to 2011 that Putin saved both the Chechen people and Russia.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SGKM0BjaQJcC&dq=kadyrov+putin+%22saved+russia%22&pg=PA278|title=State Building in Putin's Russia: Policing and Coercion after Communism|page=278|first=Brian D.|last=Taylor|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-0521760881|date=2011}}</ref>

Russia has suffered [[democratic backsliding]] during Putin's tenure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bader |first1=Max |last2=van Ham |first2=Carolien |year=2015 |title=What explains regional variation in election fraud? Evidence from Russia: a research note |journal=Post-Soviet Affairs |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=514–528 |doi=10.1080/1060586X.2014.969023 |s2cid=154548875 |issn=1060-586X |url=https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/276252005/Bader2015what.pdf |access-date=14 July 2023 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709195613/https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/276252005/Bader2015what.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Freedom House]] has listed Russia as being "not free" since 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2005/russia|title=Russia {{!}} Country report {{!}} Freedom in the World {{!}} 2005|publisher=Dreedom House|access-date=30 December 2016|archive-date=31 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075259/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2005/russia|url-status=dead}}</ref> Experts do not generally consider Russia to be a democracy,<ref name="Gill-2016">{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Building an Authoritarian Polity: Russia in Post-Soviet Times |url=http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/russian-and-east-european-government-politics-and-policy/building-authoritarian-polity-russia-post-soviet-times?format=HB&isbn=9781107130081 |last=Gill |first=Graeme |edition=hardback |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=978-1-107-13008-1}}</ref><ref name="Diamond-2015">{{Cite journal |last=Diamond |first=Larry |date=7 January 2015 |title=Facing Up to the Democratic Recession |journal=[[Journal of Democracy]] |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |location=Baltimore, Maryland |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=141–155 |doi=10.1353/jod.2015.0009 |s2cid=38581334 |issn=1086-3214 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/565645}}</ref><ref name="Levitsky-2010">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZDI05p1PDgC |title=Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War |last1=Levitsky |first1=Steven |last2=Way |first2=Lucan A. |date=2010 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=978-1-139-49148-8}}</ref> citing purges and jailing of political opponents,<ref name="Reuter-2017">{{Cite book |last=Reuter |first=Ora John |url=http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ref/id/CBO9781316761649 |title=The Origins of Dominant Parties: Building Authoritarian Institutions in Post-Soviet Russia |date=2017 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=978-1-316-76164-9 |edition=E-book |doi=10.1017/9781316761649 |access-date=24 July 2018 |archive-date=11 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211113905/http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ref/id/CBO9781316761649 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gainous |first1=Jason |last2=Wagner |first2=Kevin M. |last3=Ziegler |first3=Charles E. |year=2018 |title=Digital media and political opposition in authoritarian systems: Russia's 2011 and 2016 Duma elections |journal=Democratization |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=209–226 |doi=10.1080/13510347.2017.1315566 |s2cid=152199313 |issn=1351-0347}}</ref> curtailed press freedom,<ref>{{cite book |last=Gelman |first=Vladimir |title=Authoritarian Russia: Analyzing Post-Soviet Regime Changes |publisher=[[University of Pittsburgh Press]] |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |year=2015 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt155jmv1 |isbn=978-0-8229-6368-4 |jstor=j.ctt155jmv1 |author-link=Vladimir Gelman}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ross |first=Cameron |year=2018 |title=Regional elections in Russia: instruments of authoritarian legitimacy or instability? |journal=Palgrave Communications |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1057/s41599-018-0137-1 |issn=2055-1045 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=White |first=Stephen |editor1-first=Stephen |editor1-last=White |date=2014 |title=Russia's Authoritarian Elections |doi=10.4324/9781315872100 |isbn=978-1-315-87210-0}}</ref> and the lack of free and fair elections.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ross |first=Cameron |year=2011 |title=Regional Elections and Electoral Authoritarianism in Russia |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=63 |issue=4 |pages=641–661 |doi=10.1080/09668136.2011.566428 |s2cid=154016379 |issn=0966-8136}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Skovoroda |first1=Rodion |last2=Lankina |first2=Tomila |year=2017 |title=Fabricating votes for Putin: new tests of fraud and electoral manipulations from Russia |journal=Post-Soviet Affairs |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=100–123 |doi=10.1080/1060586X.2016.1207988 |s2cid=54830119 |issn=1060-586X |url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/67182/1/Lankiina_Fabricating%20votes.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moser |first1=Robert G. |last2=White |first2=Allison C. |year=2017 |title=Does electoral fraud spread? The expansion of electoral manipulation in Russia |journal=Post-Soviet Affairs |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=85–99 |doi=10.1080/1060586X.2016.1153884 |s2cid=54037737 |issn=1060-586X}}</ref> In 2004, Freedom House warned that Russia's "retreat from freedom marks a low point not registered since 1989, when the country was part of the Soviet Union".<ref>{{#invoke:cite|web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/article/russia-downgraded-not-free?page=70&release=242|title=Russia Downgraded to 'Not Free' {{!}} Freedom House|website=freedomhouse.org|access-date=30 December 2016|archive-date=1 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101001014/https://freedomhouse.org/article/russia-downgraded-not-free?page=70&release=242|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] has rated Russia as "authoritarian" since 2011,<ref>{{#invoke:cite|web|url = http://www.yabiladi.com/img/content/EIU-Democracy-Index-2015.pdf |title = Democracy Index 2015: Democracy in an age of anxiety |website = yabiladi.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/02/09/a-new-low-for-global-democracy |title = A new low for global democracy |newspaper = [[The Economist]] |date = 9 February 2022 }}</ref> whereas it had previously been considered a "[[hybrid regime]]" (with "some form of democratic government" in place).<ref name="Democracy">{{cite news|url = https://www.economist.com/media/pdf/DEMOCRACY_INDEX_2007_v3.pdf |title = Index of democracy by Economist Intelligence Unit |last = Kekic |first = Laza |newspaper = [[The Economist]] |access-date = 27 December 2007 }}</ref> According to political scientist Larry Diamond, writing in 2015, "no serious scholar would consider Russia today a democracy".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Diamond |first=Larry |date=1 January 2015 |title=Facing Up to the Democratic Recession |journal=[[Journal of Democracy]] |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |location=Baltimore, Maryland |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=141–155 |doi=10.1353/jod.2015.0009 |s2cid=38581334 |issn=1086-3214 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/565645}}</ref>

Following the jailing of the anti-corruption blogger and activist [[Alexei Navalny]] in 2018, ''[[Forbes]]'' wrote: "Putin's actions are those of a dictator... As a leader with failing public support, he can only remain in power by using force and repression that gets worse by the day".<ref>{{cite web|first=Paul Roderick|last=Gregory|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2013/07/18/putin-declares-himself-dictator-with-the-navalny-verdict/?sh=56d835b60b48|title=Putin Declares Himself Dictator With The Navalny Verdict|website=[[Forbes]]|date=18 July 2018}}</ref> In November 2021, ''[[The Economist]]'' also noted that Putin had "shifted from autocracy to dictatorship".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2021/11/13/vladimir-putin-has-shifted-from-autocracy-to-dictatorship|title=Vladimir Putin has shifted from autocracy to dictatorship|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=13 November 2021}}</ref>

In February 2015, former U.S. ambassador to Germany [[John Kornblum]] wrote in ''[[the Wall Street Journal]]'' that:<ref name="jkwsj">{{cite news|last1 = Kornblum |first1 = John |title = Time to Stop Letting Putin Win the War of Words |url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-kornblum-time-to-stop-letting-putin-win-the-war-of-words-1423438339 |work = [[The Wall Street Journal]] |date = 8 February 2015 }}</ref>
{{cquote|Western nations must start the turnaround by emphatically refuting one of Mr. Putin's favorite claims: that the West abrogated the promise of democratic partnership with Russia in the 1990 [[Paris Charter]], a document produced by a summit that included European governments, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, convened as Communism crumbled across Eastern Europe... The U.S. and its allies didn't rush in after 1990 to exploit a proud but collapsing Soviet Union – a tale that Mr. Putin now spins. I took part in nearly every major negotiation of that era. Never was the idea of humbling Russia considered even for a moment. The Russian leaders we encountered were not angry Prussian-style [[Junker (Prussia)|Junkers]] who railed against a strategic stab in the back. Many if not all viewed the fall of the Soviet Union as liberation rather than defeat... Contrary to Mr. Putin's fictions about NATO's illegal enlargement, the West has honored the agreements worked out with Russia two decades ago.
}}

In her 2017 book ''Red Hangover: Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism'', [[Kristen Ghodsee]] argued that the triumphalist attitudes of Western powers at the end of the [[Cold War]], and the fixation with linking all leftist and [[socialist]] political ideals with the horrors of [[Stalinism]], allowed neoliberalism to fill the void, undermined democratic institutions and reforms, left a trail of economic misery, unemployment, hopelessness and rising inequality throughout the former [[Eastern Bloc]]. This includes Russia, helping fuel the rise of Putin's extremist right-wing nationalism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ghodsee |first=Kristen|date=2017 |title=Red Hangover: Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism |url=https://www.dukeupress.edu/red-hangover|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|location=Durham, North Carolina |pages=xix–xx, 134, 197–200 |isbn=978-0822369493}}</ref>

=== After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine ===
[[File:Every Night for Ukraine 022 Russian Embassy Finland (51913217218).jpg|thumb|Protest sign in front of the Russian embassy in Finland. Putin has been labeled a [[War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|war criminal]] by international law experts.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine war: Putin should face trial this year, says top lawyer |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64138851 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=1 January 2023}}</ref>]]

Following mounting civilian casualties during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]],<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/thousands-civilians-mariupol-may-have-died-past-month-un-tells-reuters-2022-03-29/ |title = Thousands of civilians in Mariupol may have died in past month – UN tells Reuters |work = [[Reuters]] |date = 29 March 2022 }}</ref> U.S. president [[Joe Biden]] called Putin a war criminal and "murderous dictator".<ref name="Putin according to Biden">{{cite news|last1 = Parker |first1 = Ashley |title = Biden calls Putin a 'war criminal' |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/16/biden-zelensky-speech-response-aid/ |newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] |access-date = 18 March 2022 |date = 17 March 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1 = Vazquez |first1 = Maegan |last2 = Carvajal |first2 = Nikki |title = Biden calls Putin a 'murderous dictator' and 'pure thug' |url = https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/17/politics/biden-putin-pure-thug/index.html |access-date = 6 April 2022 |website = [[CNN]] |date = 17 March 2022 }}</ref> In the [[2022 State of the Union Address]], Biden said that Putin had "badly miscalculated".<ref>{{cite web|first=Lauren|last=Gambino|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/01/joe-biden-ukraine-state-of-the-union |title=State of the Union: Joe Biden pledges to make Putin pay for Ukraine invasion|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 March 2022}}</ref> The [[Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations|Ukrainian envoy to the United Nations]], [[Sergiy Kyslytsya]] likened Putin to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/national/ukraines-un-envoy-likens-putin-to-hitler/video/1717033aba4373b46eb28437fac6aba2|title=Ukraine's U.N. envoy likens Putin to Hitler|website=[[News.com.au]]|date=1 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307020722/https://www.news.com.au/national/ukraines-un-envoy-likens-putin-to-hitler/video/1717033aba4373b46eb28437fac6aba2 |archive-date=7 March 2022 }}</ref> Latvian prime minister [[Krisjanis Karins]] also likened the Russian leader to Hitler, saying he was "a deluded autocrat creating misery for millions" and that "Putin is fighting against democracy (...) If he can attack Ukraine, theoretically it could be any other European country".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-launch-new-sanctions-against-russia-over-barbaric-attack-ukraine-2022-02-24/|title=EU targets Russian economy after 'deluded autocrat' Putin invades Ukraine|work=[[Reuters]]|date=25 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/latvias-pm-says-putin-his-regime-need-be-isolated-world-2022-02-24/|title=Latvia's PM says Putin and his regime need to be isolated from the world|work=[[Reuters]]|date=25 February 2022}}</ref>

Lithuania's foreign minister [[Gabrielius Landsbergis]] said, "The battle for Ukraine is a battle for Europe. If Putin is not stopped there, he will go further".<ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/eu-to-impose-unprecedented-sanctions-on-russia-as-leaders-meet-1.4811001 "EU to impose unprecedented sanctions on Russia as leaders meet"]; ''The Irish Times'']; 24 February 2022</ref> President [[Emmanuel Macron]] of France said Putin was "deluding himself".<ref>{{cite web|access-date=20 March 2023 |date=3 March 2022 |first1=Aurelien |first2=Anton |last1=Breeden |last2=Troianovski |title=A Putin-Macron call leaves France persuaded that Russia wants 'control of all of Ukraine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/world/europe/putin-macron-call.html |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> French foreign minister [[Jean-Yves Le Drian]] denounced him as "a cynic and a dictator".<ref>{{Cite web |title=After Putin highlights Russia's nukes, France retorts: NATO is a nuclear alliance |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-putin-highlights-russias-nukes-france-retorts-nato-is-a-nuclear-alliance/ |access-date=20 April 2025 |website=[[The Times of Israel]] |language=en-US |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref> Canadian Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]] called Putin "a lying, murderous dictator."<ref>{{cite news|title= Trudeau slams Trump for starting a trade war with Canada while appeasing Putin |first= Rob |last= Gillies |date= 5 March 2025 |work= [[Associated Press News]] |language= en |url= https://apnews.com/article/trudeau-trump-canada-tariffs-us-5d5ef8bd41c4567926d543a9526b2e84 |access-date= 7 March 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250307072935/https://apnews.com/article/trudeau-trump-canada-tariffs-us-5d5ef8bd41c4567926d543a9526b2e84 |archive-date= 7 March 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> UK prime minister [[Boris Johnson]] also labelled Putin a "dictator" who had authorised "a tidal wave of violence against a fellow Slavic people".<ref>{{cite web|first=Rob|last=Merrick|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-putin-russia-speech-ukraine-war-b2022309.html|title=Boris Johnson brands Putin 'dictator' and vows to end 'hideous and barbaric' Ukrainian war|website=[[The Independent]]|date=24 February 2022}}</ref> Some authors, such as [[Michael Hirsh (journalist)|Michael Hirsh]], described Putin as a "messianic" [[Russian nationalism|Russian nationalist]] and [[Eurasianism|Eurasianist]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael |last=Hirsch |authorlink=Michael Hirsh (journalist) |title = Putin's Thousand-Year War |url = https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/12/putins-thousand-year-war/ |work = [[Foreign Policy]] |date = 12 March 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title = The cocktail of ideologies behind Vladimir Putin |url = https://www.dw.com/en/the-cocktail-of-ideologies-behind-vladimir-putin/a-61242466 |website = [[Deutsche Welle]] |date = 24 March 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first = Jane |last = Burbank |title = The Grand Theory Driving Putin to War |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/opinion/russia-ukraine-putin-eurasianism.html |work = [[The New York Times]] |date = 22 March 2022 }}</ref>

In March 2025, [[Franklin Foer]] of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' said that the 21st century was the "Age of Vladimir Putin".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/putin-russia-won/681959/|first1=Franklin|last1=Foer|website=[[The Atlantic]]|date=8 March 2025|access-date=8 March 2025|title=Putin Won}}</ref> Foer wrote that:
{{cquote|Over the past 25 years, the world has bent to the vision of one man. In the course of a generation, he not only short-circuited the transition to democracy in his own country, and in neighboring countries, but set in motion a chain of events that has shattered the transatlantic order that prevailed after World War II. In the global turn against democracy, he has played, at times, the role of figurehead, impish provocateur, and field marshal. We are living in the Age of Vladimir Putin.}}