you can argue that Putin is no gentleman, but Russians in general aren’t soft people.
Most people say that by two years old the "cake is baked." Putin was in women's care for those first two years of his life, so that's my guess where he learned his general brutality and attitude towards women.
And, I agree with you that the Russians generally aren't a soft people. I think it's part of their Slavic heritage.
Maybe some Ghengis Khan genes snuck into Putin's gene pool as well.