Mental Disorders in Leaders and Ideologists: An Update

An attempt is made here to analyze mental conditions of Vladimir Putin and the ideologist Aleksandr Dugin, who was called the “Putin’s Brain”. Physical maltreatment was described in Putin’s biographies. 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 current military operation: to disarm and denazify Ukraine, to protect ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers from “genocide”. 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. Certain behavioral stereotypes include attacking weaker individuals and yielding to dominant figures. The latter seems to be reflected by Putin’s relationships with Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechen Republic. Some 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. The most 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.