The West concentrated its efforts on demonizing Putin and mounted an unprecedented campaign of dehumanizing and drowning him in a torrent of abuse. Just look at the editoreal pages of the flagship of American democracy – The New York Times:

Russian strongman, bare-chested muscleman, villain, unreconstructed Russian imperialist who has malign intent and a planto enlarge his empire, leader of a rogue state, authoritarian ruler, bully who seeks a “Great Russia” in an “outrageous and highly dangerous power-play” [Herman, 2014: 174]

The choice of derogatory terms is taken from American research:

Herman Edward S. and Peterson, David. The Ukraine Crisis and the Propaganda System in Overdrive // Lendman Stephen. Flashpoint in Ukraine. – Clarity Press, Inc., 2014. – 269 p. - P. 173 - 174..