© Rueters
And to hear those close to Mr Putin tell it, this is a faithful reflection of the former KGB colonel's own mind as he heads into a third term as president of the world's second largest nuclear power.
In numerous speeches, Mr Putin alluded to the presence of foreign plots against his rule and internal enemies of Russia's sovereignty, accusing protesters of responding to "signals" from Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, and being part of a foreign-inspired effort to "show us that they can rock the boat".
While this may have been scripted for public consumption, analysts say that the behind-the-scenes Putin is very much like the one he projects in public, his behavior symptomatic of the same outlook he evokes in political speeches.
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Who is Putin's worst enemy right now?
The corrupt European financial system.
Do we need to remind anyone that in its day, Europe's corrupt banking system financed slavery, violent conquest of the New World, illegal opium trafficking in China, several major wars, and apparently the US war machine? (Short list.)
If I were Putin would I be all happy about being buddy-buddy with the West? Not if I had a shred of moral or ethical sense left in my soul.