One thing I have to give Putler props on, he does present himself as stronger and more authoritarian. He doesn't allow weakness to be shown.
I still think he's made some critical mistakes in the Crimea campaign, mistakes that will cost him. Sending troops in without identifying insignia was a terrible move. His advisers should have recommended they slap some sort of peacekeeper logos on... that IMHO would have done a lot more to legitimatize the invasion. Sending in troops without any markings is something you only do for black bag ops and special forces raids, not when you're pouring thousands of troops over a border.