I see a lot of comments here thinking that Putin would lose power if he was exposed as a liar. That’s not true. They know he lies. He lets people know he lies. It’s openly cynical. For instance, Putin didn’t seriously expect anyone to believe him when he said their invasion force in Crimea with unmarked uniforms were “probably Crimean self-defense forces who bought their uniforms at a local store”. Their propaganda is more sophisticated than trying to convince people they’re truthful, it’s to undermine the very notion of truth and its value. Basically, “Everybody’s leaders lie, but you Russians at least know that your leaders lie. Those naive Westerners actually believe that stuff.” That’s the subtext with these ‘jokes’.

In a world where truth is impossible to know, and politics has nothing to do with facts, you might as well either choose to support the version of reality you prefer, or just ignore politics completely. Either way, Putin wins.

Their aim has not been to convince people Putin is the best ruler on the basis of democratic principles, but to destroy those very principles. Namely the idea that individuals actually have any political power, that facts and free debate can and should form the basis of public opinion, and that leaders should follow that opinion, that there should be rule of law that applies equally to all. And so on. In Russia, the leadership tells people what the ‘facts’ are and what their opinions should be (should they bother having one), everyone is not equal under the law, the law is merely a tool of those with power to be wielded over those without. Moreover, they tell the people (and believe it themselves), that this is how the world really works, has always worked and always will. They tell people this is also how so-called ‘democracies’ work as well - they are all completely manipulated behind the scenes by cabals of elites. It’s only because they are lying hypocrites that their leaders pretend otherwise. If they are, on occasion, forced to change some political stance due to public opinion, it is only because they are weak, not because they believe in democracy.

Thus, the Putin’s rule is the natural form of government. It is strong and righteous and moral. Even if they lie, they are moral, because they have destroyed any notion of a social contract saying they shouldn’t lie.