Understanding Vladimir Putin - Dark Triad Personality

"One of the things that I am concerned about is the degree to which we've seen a lot of commentary lately where there were, there are Republicans or pundits or cable commentators who seemed to have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than fellow Americans because those fellow Americans were Democrats. That cannot be." ~ Barack Obama

"In Russia an authoritarian leader is running the country. You can't fight Putin with elections because he controls them. That's why demonstrations are the most effective approach. Unfortunately Russia has sunk to this primitive level." ~ Alexei Navalny

"The nationalist right have common views. They hate the EU, they hate NATO, they dislike trade, they admire Russia. Many of them are funded by Putin." ~ Anne Applebaum

Understanding Vladimir Putin is a balancing act between his tactical genius, while his ambition is subpar. His personality, reflects the traits of the dark triad.

These qualities put together create a leader whose approach to power is as relentless as it is calculating. His IQ is at most at 121.

You see narcissism in the way Putin crafts his public image. He showcases on all social media of himself as a man of strength and resilience, a leader who rides horses shirtless, wrestles with judo opponents, and hunts in the wild. He's unbeatable, he's a "superhero".

These are performances meant to project an aura of invincibility.

Putin does not simply lead Russia; he positions himself as its savior-a GOD, a totalitarian God.

He is the central figure in its revival from the chaos of the post-Soviet era. He controls the narrative tightly, making sure that Russian media presents him as a hero standing firm against external threats. Putin is the hero villain.

His need for admiration is insatiable.

He is unable to feel a shred of empathy for the suffering of the economy. The annexation of Crimea, in so many words, Russians, and the special military operation in Ukraine stand as grim testimony to that national pride over human life, both Ukrainians and Russians and mixed families do not care for a war.

A Machiavellian undercurrent seems to run hidden through all of Putin's actions, he consolidates power, eliminates his rivals, rewards those who are with him, and constructs a fort of control.

At the dawn of his presidency, he surgically demolished threats to his authority by co-opting oligarchs and silencing dissent.

Vladimir Putin is the richest man on Earth: Elon Musk dwarfs Putin's wealth.

Equally shrewd are the manipulations perpetrated by Putin on the international stage, where he interferes in other nations' elections, creates division among foe nations, and conducts changes in perception through propaganda.

The poisoning of political opponents: In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalized after being seriously poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. Such political violence against ordinary citizens speaks volumes about Putin's readiness to use all means that might ensure his dominance.

In Putin's world, morality bends to the will of power, and loyalty is not given but extracted through fear and reward.

Then there is the psychopathy, the cold calculating trait that allows Putin to act without remorse.

You see it in his indifference to suffering wrought by his policies, be it at home or outside the Russian borders. The trails of devastation left by the military horror campaigns in Chechnya, Syria, and Ukraine seem not to have shaken Putin's demeanor in public.

Putin is also relentless when it comes to political dissenters, especially journalists, activists, bloggers, and other political opponents who are either imprisoned or silenced under suspicious circumstances.

But what really sets Putin apart is his calculated risk-taking.

It was a gamble when Putin annexed Crimea and began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, against international norms and in the face of international sanctions and individual financial isolation.

They were not impulsive actions, but rather strategic: sacrifice economic stability and global goodwill for his vision of Russian greatness.

The United Nations fail for such bogus historical rhetoric... Do we not remember this excruciating traumatizing hate for our new Canadians - brothers and sisters of Holodomor?

All together, these traits form a leader as inscrutable as formidable.

In the process, Putin's narcissism perpetuates a historic image; his Machiavellianism keeps him relentlessly in a tight grip of power, while his psychopathic nature paves the way to a clarity of acting uncompromised by emotional interference.

Putin has a strong multifaceted personality traits of the Dark Triad of survival.

There are hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians, young men and women soldiers, that have died since 2022 - 2024 for what?

For sickening senseless political, military, historical mythical, economic and social ideology.