How Putin became the tyrannical leader politicians around the world are tripping over themselves to praise
Western leaders ignore Russian President Vladimir Putin's long history of murky political manoeuvrings as they line up to praise him
IN the past few years Vladimir Putin has killed scores of civilians in Syria, invaded the Crimea, been linked to offshore tax havens and raised tensions with NATO to frightening levels.
But in spite of this, the Russian strong-man is regularly - and inexplicably - praised by Western leaders and politicians.
Russian elections - the most recent of which were overwhelmingly won at the weekend by Putin's ruling party - are regularly subjected to accusations of voting fraud.
During his three terms as president and two as prime minister, political opposition, journalists and dissenting citizens have all been assassinated.
Last year Boris Nemtsov, a former Boris Yeltsin supporter and critic of Putin's, was shot four times in the back while crossing a bridge in Moscow.
Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist who had exposed corruption in the Putin regime, was gunned down in her apartment lobby in 2006.
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And perhaps most famously, dissenting former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London - a ruthless killing more akin to a Cold War James Bond film than reality.
A sensational public inquiry into his death later concluded it was likely ordered by the Russian state and Putin himself.
So what is it about the 63-year-old and his strong-arm dictatorial tactics that appeals to Western leaders?
A recurring theme among the praise dished out to Putin regards his ability to run his country with the nation's best interests at heart.
Most, however, conveniently forget the human rights abuses, corruption, nepotism and rejection of democracy this requires.
Just yesterday Britain's Ukip party's new leader Diane James confirmed he was one of her political heroes - placing him alongside Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.
She was confirming an opinion she first detailed in a 2015 interview, when she agreed with Nigel Farage that "if you provoke the Russian bear you get a reaction".
"I admire him from the point of view that he's standing up for his country. He is very nationalist," she said at the time.
Referring to the annexation of Crimea - and Russian supported invasion of eastern Ukraine - she added he was a "very strong leader".
"He is putting Russia first, and he has issues with the way the EU encouraged a change of government in the Ukraine which he felt put at risk a Russian population in that country."
However, she is not alone in praising Putin's iron-fisted rule.
In 2000, just prior to Putin's first ascendancy to president, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair called him an "impressive man" with a clear vision for his country.
Following a trip to Russia to discuss Russia's then war in Chechnya, Blair told the BBC: "He was highly intelligent and with a focused view of what he wants to achieve in Russia."
Perhaps most remarkably, Donald Trump has also come under fire for repeatedly praising Putin.
In comments previously unthinkable for a US presidential candidate, Trump described him as a "leader" with "great control over his country".
Trump was asked at a presidential forum how he would de-escalate tensions between the U.S. and Russia if he's elected to the White House.
Trump said he thought he would "have a very good relationship with many foreign leaders," including Putin.
In spite of widespread accusations of Russian corruption and assassinations, Trump said: "He's running his country and at least he's a leader, unlike what we have in this country."
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