The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.

I don’t think that Vladimir Putin fakes it. It is fashionable to be cynical about all politicians and cynicism is understandable. But I believe that Putin has an honest soul. I think this honesty and a commitment to values of respect for self, for law and for others can be seen in the clips I’ve collected here. Putin’s sincerity comes across strongly in this speech made on 10 February 2007 at 43rd Munich Security Conference:

It is his sincerity that won him the respect of these young Russian rappers:

Respect is also a theme in Putin’s introduction to the Vienna Judo Championships:

While Putin’s 2010 performance at the piano and singing ‘Blueberry Hill’ would not get him far on ‘The X-factor’ his audience certainly warmed to a presidential performance.

Putin’s association with a biker club called the ‘Night Wolves‘ or ‘Nochniye Volki‘ is interesting.

The Night Wolves leadership certainly respects Putin and he lauds the positive work they have done. I don’t enough about the Wolves or their association with Putin to say more than ‘it’s interesting’.