Psychiatric conditions in today’s Russian leaders and ideologists: hypothesis

Psychopathological approach to politics is successful if it identifies politicians or ideologists with a limited mental competence. An attempt is made here to analyze mental conditions of Vladimir Putin and the influential ideologist Aleksandr Dugin. Dmitry Medvedev and Ramzan Kadyrov are briefly discussed as well. Physical maltreatment was described in Putin’s biographies. It was hypothesized that he is re-enacting traumas in conditions of intergenerational traumatic chain. Child abuse is associated with various psychiatric and related conditions including paranoia. A paranoid call may sanction destruction of supposed enemies. Putin formulated the aims of his military operation: to protect Russian-speakers from “genocide”, to disarm and denazify Ukraine. Apparently, this idea is delusional. Certain war instigators are paranoid in their tendency to present themselves as prophets or world saviors. Some of them are aggressive against delusional goals. Mentally healthy people can be susceptible to psychotic appeals, a predisposing condition being fear of strangers and projection of hatred upon them. Some individuals, maltreated during their childhood, respond by acting out fight or flight responses, attacking weaker persons and submitting to dominant ones. This seems to be reflected by Putin’s relationships with Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechen Republic, who appears as a dominant personality. Certain ethnically non-Russian subjects of the Federation may be interested in a continuation of the Ukraine war; and there are concerns that Putin has come under their influence. An important topic in this connection is the inter-ethnic difference in the birth rate and migrations, which is avoided by Russian media and officials these days. In conclusion, mental derangements in politicians are dangerous and must be diagnosed by psychiatrists on the basis of speech, writings, and behavior. More expert opinions are needed.