Putin Is Looking More And More Like A Religious Fanatic

• Abbas Gallyamov
• 4.09.2026, 11:02

But fanatics will never hold on to victory.

When it comes to shaping public opinion, choosing the right wording is extremely important. It makes sense to describe the Russian army’s failures not so much as a manifestation of Putin’s “weakness” but rather as proof of his incompetence. “Weakness” is a concept overly laden with emotion, and therefore one that allows for playing on connotations, with some meanings overshadowing others. One can, for example, demonstrate cruelty and thereby compensate for a previously displayed weakness.

“Incompetence,” in this sense, is a much drier, more rational, and therefore more functional concept. A lack of competence cannot be compensated for by brutality.

And in general, since he spent nearly a quarter of a century—to the detriment of everything else—building up the country’s military capabilities and strengthening its intelligence services, and then, as soon as it came down to it, it turned out that neither these intelligence services nor this army were capable of anything serious, then how is this anything other than flagrant political and administrative incompetence?

Most Russians are not yet ready to acknowledge the ruling regime as criminal—for them, that’s a step too far. But the overwhelming majority would agree with the assertion that it is incompetent.

Putin increasingly resembles a religious fanatic; his struggle against the West looks more and more like a veritable Crusade. And fanaticism, from the perspective of public perception, is the opposite of competence. A competent person thinks clearly and objectively, whereas a fanatic is incapable of doing so. Even if the fanatic isn’t shouting with his eyes bulging like Hitler’s, there’s still a “fixation” in his mind that prevents him from seeing things clearly.

As a wise Nazi general said to Stirlitz on the train:

“Fanatics can win—at first. But they will never hold on to victory. Because they’ll grow tired of themselves.”

Abbas Galliamov, “Telegram”