In Germany, the word "Putinversteher" (female form "Putinversteherin") is a neologism and a political buzzword (Putin + verstehen), which literally translates "Putin understander", i.e., "one who understands Putin". It is a pejorative reference to politicians and pundits who express empathy to Putin and may also be translated as "Putin-empathizer." Putin-Versteher was among frequent suggestions for the Un-word of the year 2014, but the panel of linguists favored the word Lügenpresse ("lying press"). Among the runners-up was a similar term, "Russland-Versteher" (Russia-Understander). Although the word was used in English media as early as 2014, it became an international term in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion.

The venomous German term is a cover-up for those who denounce everyone who takes pains trying to understand Putin because there is allegedly nothing to understand about him: his guilt must be taken for granted. Whoever refuses to back up this narrative is considered to have committed a crime against humanity, punishable by up to three years in prison.

Western “democratic“ discourse knows how to defend itself  [Baud, 2022: 260]