Putin is first, last, and always KGB. Do not under estimate the nature of the beast. Perhaps you need to refresh your memory
"There was no law among them, but tribe rose against tribe. Discord thus ensued, and they began to war against each other. They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us and judge us according to the Law." They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Russes . . . The Chuds, the Slavs, the Krivichians and the Ves' then said to the people of Rus', "Our land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to rule and reign over us."
--Early Twelfth Century, The Russian Primary Chronicle