The collapse of the Soviet Union could not have been a source of national pride for many in Russia. The one person who has capitalized on this the most has been Vladimir Putin.

To the outsider who’s looking in today, there is no mistaking Putin’s cult of personality built on the back of Russian modern media. It’s right out of Hitler’s playbook in post-WWI Germany.

The problem for America is that Russia is becoming a major influence in the Middle East, eclipsing U.S. interests and influence in the region. America has long been pot committed to the Middle East poker hand, but at this point it looks like Obama has no more chips on the table to bluff with.

Another interesting phenomena occurring on social media is Americas own Putin worship and this ironically plays right into the hands of Putin and his propaganda machine.  I remember earlier this year, transferring to the N train from 59th street station in Manhattan, seeing a large ant-Obama booth clearly set up by Russian FSB proxies, a clear attempt to shift American perception.

You can say what you want about the, often shirtless, AK-47-wielding Russian leader, he has been steadfast in his resolve to put Russia back on the world map. Now, with Iran and Syria as allies, Russia has positioned itself as the major state influencer in the modern Middle East, and until America can stop caring about the price of crude oil, Russia influence and cult of personality are problems we can’t ignore.

Cult of personality is a pejorative term implying the concentration of all power in a single charismatic leader within a totalitarian state and the near deification of that leader in state propaganda. Totalitarian regimes use the state-controlled mass media to cultivate a larger-than-life public image of the leader through unquestioning flattery and praise. –Encyclopedia.com

(Featured image courtesy of businessinsider.com)