A couple of years ago, some Freepers were touting Putin as the new defender of Christianity.
Russia would still be orthodox Christian no matter what. The issue is that certain outside churches are seen as subversive and Russia has always exhibited xenophobia to some degree. The Russians understand exploitation.
I too remember when he was the man of the hour for some folks here.
Putin, for his own reasons, happens to be more interested in fighting the spread of Islam throughout the world than our current clown in charge.
I’m happy about that...but I have no illusions as to who Putin is - an old Soviet.