Fiona Hill

But I don't think there's people he trusts for everything.

I don't think he's the kind of person who tells anyone everything at all.

I don't think he's got something he deeply confides in.

No, I think he compartmentalizes things.

He's often said that the only person he trusts is himself.

And I think that's probably true.

He's the kind of person who keeps his own counsel.

I mean, people talk about Kovalchuk, for example, or

you know, kind of some of the other people who were, you know, friends with him that kind of go back to his time in St.

Petersburg.

You know, at various points, he seemed to, you know, spend a lot of time, you know, way back when talking to people who were, you know, people think of kind of more moderating forces like Alexei Kudrin, but, you know, it doesn't seem to be interacting, you know, with them.

You know, there are obviously aspects of his personal life, you know, does he speak to his daughters?

Does he, you know, speak to, you know, kind of

lovers, you know, kind of in a way people speculate about, you know, kind of who might he confide in, but I would greatly doubt that he would have deep political discussions with them.

He's a very guarded, very careful person.

I think he's deeply suspicious of people and of information.

And I think part of the problems that we see with Putin now

I mean, I've come from isolation during COVID.

I'm really convinced that, you know, like many of us, a lot of Putin's views have hardened.

And the way that he looks at the world have been shadowed in very dark ways by the experience of this pandemic.