Way to nail it, Achilles. Putin is the leader of what can be called the emerging ethno-nationalist bloc. Either it means something to be Russian, or French or British or American or it doesn't. If it does, you have to defend it. If you don't, you will surely lose it.
Much of our recent political and cultural history has been an all-out effort to convince us it doesn't matter. Part of it was understandable, as the world had seen two devastating world wars that were blamed on rampant nationalism.
Most of the indoctrination recently however has been a crass attempt to stack the political deck by bringing in vast numbers of poor immigrants who would be reliable democrat voters. Guess what, they don't become americans simply by moving here or even becoming citizens. Some do but the majority do not. Even more frightening, we are seeing many examples that while the parents may try to assimilate, their offspring long for their lost culture and try to bring it here, often with terrible results.
Somehow a large percent of the country has been convinced that it is somehow shameful to be proud of our own culture and ethnicity. At the same time you are horrible if you don't elevate backwards alien cultures to moral equivalency with your own.
