The people of Russia are an orthodox, conservative people. They don't want gay marriages, liberal crime policies, insane multiculturalism and to subscribe to the rampant materialism of the west. Putin's leadership merely reflects this- hence his popularity.
One gets the feeling that the west hates Putin because he has no desire to pursue neo-liberalism as rabidly as they do. And nor should he. The rise of worship of the self in the western world is all encompassing. Countries such as Russia and China look at us and see countries that are not only horribly divided (look at the state of politics in the west) but also experiencing massive moral decline. We have lost our way and they know it. Our societies are crumbling. I absolutely subscribe to theory that the US and the west are in decline. From my point of view countries such as Russia and China are merely biding their time because they know their day will come, and may even be closer than they had hoped for.
As a Christian, when I look at the character of people such as Obama and Putin I ask myself the same question. Which one has beliefs similar to mine? It sure as hell isn't Obama.
