Inside the recesses of Vladimir Putin’s criminal mind

Over 310,000 Americans died during two world wars in Europe — that tiny continent so culturally rich, and yet, so troubled at its root. Masterpieces of art and music and architecture have been produced within its borders, along with a parade of madmen through history with genocide and near-constant war as companions. Hopefully, we have learned that European soil is just not worth another American life.

The latest spawn from this megalomaniac factory is Vladimir Putin, whose motivations and persona the naive West is now scurrying to guess and assess, despite the disturbingly clear signals the Russian president has been throwing off for years. Popular descriptions of the Ukraine invader range from “Soviet dreamer” to “bully.” But what is now certain is that he is a war criminal — in effect, a hostage taker. Putin is assaulting his victim and claiming thin justification well outside the boundaries of civilized co-existence, just like common thugs do on the street.

The criminal mind is well studied and lessons are available from those who deal with criminals daily. It is an inward and disordered mind, focused almost entirely on selfish needs and desires and viewing others merely as objects who have value only to the degree that they are useful to the criminal. When others are viewed as expendable and utilitarian pawns, violence nearly always follows.

Law enforcement behavioral scientists will point out that the criminals who make the most trouble in society are a mix of sociopath and malformed personalities that leave the offender doubting his own adequacy as a capable human. His life is a perpetual pursuit of self-reassurance that he is a person of actual substance. What we know of Vladimir Putin is animated by actions that reveal his self-doubt. The very things he does to bolster his own view of himself betray to the world the kind of troubled human with whom we are dealing.

Putin has gone to lengths to project an image of virility — at least in his own mind. Thus, the world has been fed photos of him bare-chested and astride a horse, in full hockey uniform skating around with real players, and, of course, in martial arts regalia, because he’s clearly not someone to mess with.

To the behavioralist, Putin is a familiar profile sending out strong indicators that he is at war with himself first, constantly seeking to tamp down his own nagging doubts that have shouted at him probably since youth. Unfortunately, the compensations that men like him grasp at can lead to criminal damage to others. In this case, the criminal is the head of a well-armed nation, and the crime is an unjust offensive war against a weaker neighbor.

But insecure does not mean incapable. Putin spent 20 years consolidating unilateral authority over a vast country. Enemies disappeared, were poisoned, or made an example of. His public shaming last week of his own cabinet, nervously locked within their Stockholm syndrome submission, along with the outlandish threats he spews almost daily, are all psychological tells that help inform the rational world how to confront him.

And confrontation, like it or not, is the key when dealing with a criminal possessing this profile. Some type of dispiriting deterrence must be made plain to the offender. If Putin were a regular street criminal, or terrorist, or hostage taker, instead of an autocrat criminal, law enforcement would deploy proven techniques attuned to his type of behaviors to move him toward an off ramp of acquiescence — all the while demonstrating that he faced overwhelming opposition to any further bad acts, such that, if he tried, it would only contribute to his fear of embarrassing failure because failure would be an assured reality. 

While he shares many traits, Putin, of course, is not a street criminal, so diplomatic considerations are operative. However, the principle of confrontation remains important. If the rest of Europe does not take unified steps to show him that he has embarked on a path that will severely injure his country and make his name an abomination among his own people, then the world can expect him to continue his violent quest for self-imagined glory.      

It is a sad thing that the people of Russia are being led to likely deprivation and suffering by a single man trying to outrun his lifelong demons. If Vladimir Putin wanted to be truly celebrated as a figure great in history, he would lead Russia into the free world, unlock the potential of the Russian people to develop their massive, resource-rich country, and enjoy blossoming prosperity.  He could then watch NATO fade away, no longer needed.

Or he can continue to invade and kill, imagining himself great but, inevitably, achieving only the ridicule of history.

Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI, was an FBI special agent for 24 years and principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). He independently consults with private companies and public-safety agencies on strategic mission technologies.