Putin’s extravagant vanity has severely undermined the strongman image that he has spent the last 12 years building. After all, narcissistic publicity stunts and facelifts – which worked well for his friend Silvio Berlusconi in Italy (until they didn’t) – don’t inspire fear, or even respect, among Russians, where an iron-fisted ruler is always the preferred choice.
普京极大的虚荣心严重破坏了其在过去12年树立起来的强人形象。毕竟，在公众面前走秀，进行整容，自我陶醉其中——他的朋友西尔维奥•贝卢斯科尼在意大利这样做受到了很好的效果（后来也不是这样了）——不会让俄罗斯人害怕，甚至得不到俄罗斯人的尊重，在俄罗斯，强硬的统治者常常是宠儿。因此，如今，普京在政治方面的强人形象已经一去不复返。当你无法移动眉毛时，装出专横的表情就很困难了。