The Art of Deception – iD Magazine
FROM PROFESSIONAL LIAR TO STATESMAN
VLADIMIR PUTIN
When German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid a visit to the Kremlin in 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin had his dog Koni with him. The huge black Labrador retriever sniffed at the German politician—under the watchful eye of Putin. He had previously been informed that Merkel feared dogs. He wanted to see how she’d react. Merkel didn’t flinch—making it clear to Putin he was dealing with a tough opponent…
The Russian president is a master of manipulation and deception, but he isn’t merely predisposed to lying—it was a part of his job. As a senior KGB officer, Putin was trained to ensure his lies could withstand a high degree of pressure. “Lying, deceiving, and manipulating are natural talents of psychopaths,” explains criminal psychologist Robert Hare. For them the lies become personal truth, and all else must be subordinated to these lies. From allegations of involvement in the murder of journalists to numerous shady dealings for personal gain: Putin always shakes off such claims. Perhaps it’s because they aren’t part of his self-created reality. Angela Merkel has said that Putin lives “in another world.” As psychologist Jens Hoffmann puts it: “Putin combines several personality styles—primarily dominance. He has too many emotional attachments for a psychopath, though.”
But how many emotional ties does Putin have now? In 2014 he separated from his wife, Lyudmila, and one of his two daughters lives in the Netherlands. Politically he has been isolated since the 2014 conflict with Ukraine. And economically things are not going well either due to sanctions and his own counter-sanctions. His pet project, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, was met with hostility. Yet many Russians still back him, and he can still show that he is the strong man in the Kremlin. But lately there have been far more serious consequences for the world.
“If people with psychopathic tendencies get frustrated, they tend to get violent,” observed William A. Tiller, a Stanford University professor emeritus and researcher of human consciousness. “It is known as cornered rat syndrome. ”The rat does all it can to injure its opponent and uses its entire arsenal. In Putin’s case that includes the fearsome might of the Russian army and nuclear weapons…