Putin was LOVED by the West until 2007.

Tony Blair called him a dear friend, a "reformer" and even gave Putin a set of silver cufflinks as a birthday present .

George W. Bush said:

"I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country."

All that changed when Putin gave his speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007 and deckared that Russia was no longer going to get pushed around by the West. Once he showed that he was willing to stand up for Russia and REALLY WAS going to vigorously defend Russia's self interest rather than just be another lickspittle vassal of US hegemony, he became Public Enemy Number One, Hitler, Satan, etc.