# Idiocy that makes history: an update

Sergei V Jargin

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# Idiocy that makes history: an update

Sergei V. Jargin

## Abstract

An attempt is made in this review to analyze psychological conditions of selected politicians. Physical maltreatment was described in biographies of Vladimir Putin. Child abuse is associated with various psychiatric and related conditions including paranoia. A paranoid call may sanction destruction of supposed enemies. Putin formulated the aims of his military operation, one of them being protection of Russian-speakers from genocide. It is known that ethnic Russians have not undergone genocide. Apparently, this idea is delusional. Certain war instigators are paranoid in their tendency to present themselves as prophets or world saviors. Some of them are aggressive against delusional goals. Mentally healthy people can be susceptible to psychotic appeals, a predisposing condition being fear of strangers and projection of hatred upon them. Some ethnically non-Russian subjects within and outside the Federation may be interested in a continuation of the Ukraine war; and there are concerns that Putin has come under their influence. The most important topic in this connection is the inter-ethnic difference in the birth rate and migrations, which is avoided by Russian media and officials these days. Potential mental conditions of some other politicians are briefly analyzed here.

**Keywords:** political psychology; child abuse; paranoia; delusion

## Introduction

This is an update and continuation of the recently published paper by Jargin (2025). The matters are developing rapidly these days. Psychological and psychiatric derangements are not uncommon among politicians (Ghaemi 2011; Liapis & Liapis 2023; Owen 2016). Clinical insights may help to understand their suboptimal decisions and behavior (Leon 2007).

Apparently, the need to warn the public overrides the duty of confidentiality (Gartner et al. 2018). Several Soviet leaders had mental abnormalities (Förstl 2020). The psychopathological approach to politics can be successful if it identifies leaders with limited mental competence (Pettman 2012). If a leader is psychotic, while other functions are more or less intact, he can preserve abilities to remain in a position of power. Grave consequences occur when paranoid ideation persists in a dictator along with rationality and efficiency, so that delusions are brought into reality (Lavik 2002).

Child abuse is associated with psychiatric and related conditions including depression, paranoia, bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, possibly schizophrenia, as
well as low self-esteem, anxiety and anger; details and references are in the article by Jargin
(2023). Several studies have demonstrated associations of physical abuse with psychotic
symptoms (Heins et al. 2011). The latter research provided additional evidence: child abuse but
not neglect was associated with positive symptoms of psychosis. Recent reviews confirmed
association of physical abuse in childhood with psychotic symptoms and/or disorders
(Chaiyachati & Gur 2021; Grindey & Bradshaw 2022; Kaufman & Torbey 2019). Furthermore,
child abuse was reported to be a risk factor for borderline personality disorder (Mainali et al.
2020). The latter condition was discussed within the scope of trauma spectrum disorders
(Bremner et al. 2020). Finally, child abuse may be a cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder
(Miller & Brock 2017).

Vladimir Putin

Physical abuse was described in biographies of Vladimir Putin. His father is said to have physically maltreated the boy (Baker & Glasser 2005; Ihanus 2022; Myers 2015; Ressler 2017; Tismaneanu 2016). Presumably Putin's early childhood experience of physical maltreatment was recapitulated at school, where he was bullied. His saying "If a fight is (perceived as) inevitable, you must strike first" could have originated from reminiscences of bullying. He is perhaps re-enacting his traumas in conditions of an intergenerational traumatic chain (Ihanus 2014, 2022). Thanks to this case of child maltreatment there is a "danger of blundering into a nuclear war" (Elovitz 2022). Indeed, Putin has hinted at the tactical use of nuclear weapons (Owen 2021). His preoccupation with strength has been interpreted as overcompensation for underlying insecurity (Post & Doucette 2019).

Apparently, it is not so much the Russian population who perceives external threats, as it does their leader, re-enacting his juvenile fears. This supposition does not contradict the hypothesis that Putin has hubris syndrome (HS), potentially enticing him to adopt immature coping mechanisms (Liapis 2024). The symptoms of HS have been described by Lord Owen (2008); since then, the condition has been surmised in different politicians (Diamandis & Bouras 2018; Liapis & Alevizopoulos 2021). HS describes individuals with excessive confidence and pride. People having this type of personality tend to use immature coping mechanisms that may lead to the underestimation of a crisis, particularly when facing unpredictable results (Liapis & Alevizopoulos 2021). The overconfidence in leaders may prevent collaboration with global agencies and limit ability to learn from the experience of other nations (Lincoln 2020). In some of its aspects HS is close to narcissistic, antisocial and histrionic personality disorders (Jakovljevic 2011). Furthermore, it has been suggested that Putin felt "that his personal clock was ticking", that his health gives him less time to achieve the goal of placing himself in the
pantheon of Russia's great, state-building heroes (Galeotti 2022). There is a well-known Russian proverb, literally translated as "winners are not judged". The meaning is that one can get away with cutting corners, provided one actually achieves the goals. In other words, "the ends justify the means, so long as you actually achieve the ends". In fact, Putin acts in Ukraine and on the international arena in the interests of some non-European agent(s), as apparently did some initiators of the World Wars. European economies were adversely affected by the wars, contributing to industrialization of non-European countries (Prascevic 2015), followed by decolonization and population explosion. Putin's policies go on in the same direction. Wars within Europe implicate bravery of soldiers and irresponsibility of some heads of state. Winners of such wars are those who stay outside. History of the 20th century has proven that. The westward animosity is framed as a defensive response to the "centuries of Western hostilities towards Russia" (Borshchevskaya 2020). The Tatar-Mongol Yoke (1237-1480), the most efficient "hostility towards Russia", has not been mentioned, although it is a real perspective in view of demographic and economic developments (Robertson & Jargin 2025).

Several psychiatric or related conditions may belong to a continuum around HS: adult ADHD, hypomania and paranoid syndrome (Owen 2008; Ghaemi et al. 2016). Paranoia is another potential sequel to child maltreatment. Research has demonstrated significant associations between adverse childhood experiences, including physical abuse, with paranoia (Grindey & Bradshaw 2022). An association between brain injuries and paranoid syndrome was suggested (Heston 1987). Presumably, the worse the treatment of a child, especially by his father, the more frequent are paranoid ideations in the victim's later life (Carvalho et al. 2018). The association between paranoia and violence is known. A paranoid call may sanction destruction of supposed enemies (Robins & Post 1997). Putin formulated the aims of his military operation, one of them being protection of Russian-speakers from genocide. It is known that ethnic Russians have not undergone genocide. This idea may be interpreted as delusional. The difference between delusions and strongly held ideas is seen in the degree of conviction despite contradictory evidence (Kraus 2002), irrespective of logic and the "way of the world" (Cutting 2003).

Snezhnevsky (1986) and some other Soviet psychiatrists could diagnose sluggish schizophrenia on the basis of such symptoms; details and references are in the preceding article by Jargin (2011). Another ex-Soviet psychiatrist, Smulevich (2019), discussed paranoia within the scope of schizophrenia. By the way, the last genocide of ethnic Russians since the Stalin's time has been the Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign and its aftermath with deterioration of the healthcare, mass consumption of technical ethanol and other surrogates, when the average life expectancy in males decreased to 58-59 years; more details are in (Jargin 2016, 2022).
Grave consequences can occur when paranoid or delusional ideas coexist in a dictator who otherwise is rational and efficient, but may be influenced by mentally disordered advisors. Paranoid rulers tend to promote abnormal individuals and rely on their opinions (Zoja 2023), which may distort appreciation of reality. An example is the ideologist Aleksandr Dugin, called the “Putin’s Brain” (Rutland 2016), discussed in a preceding article by Jargin (2025). Moreover, behaviors of paranoiacs may include arrogance, presumption of privilege and exploitation of weaknesses (Lemert 1967), which is recognizable in some politicians.

## Dmitry Medvedev

Below are several citations. Offensive and obscene terms, ad hominem attacks and threats, used by Medvedev and known from the media, are not cited here or replaced in the following quotes by dots (...): “Our weapon is the truth. That is why our cause is right”; “Our main task to inflict a devastating defeat on all enemies – the Ukronazis, the US, (...) NATO including (...) Poland, and other Western (...)”; “UK, our eternal enemy” (Wikiquote 2024). In the author’s opinion, the utterances by Medvedev and some other politicians are compatible with HS. Hubris denotes over-confidence and exaggerated pride. The misuse of alcohol tends to accentuate the features of HS (Russell 2011). Nemesis, sometimes discussed in the context of hubris, denotes destruction that can follow in the wake of hubris (Owen 2006). The insolence inhibits international cooperation, among others, in the field of science and medicine: the attitude to Russian authors has changed since the last few years.

## Ramzan Kadyrov

Some individuals, maltreated during their childhood, respond by acting out fight or flight responses (Ihanus 2014). Defensive behaviors include attacking weaker persons and submitting to dominant ones (Lopes 2013). This seems to be exemplified by Vladimir Putin’s relationships with Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechen Republic, who appears as a dominant personality. There has been a stereotype of “chechenophobia” in Russia (Khlebnikov 2003). Certain non-European subjects of RF may be interested in a continuation of the Ukraine war, and there are concerns that Putin has come under their influence. The same might be true as regards the newly appointed Kursk governor Alexandr Khinshtein. The most important topic in this connection is the inter-ethnic difference in the birth rate and migrations, a subject which is avoided by Russian media and officials today. According to Wikipedia, Kadyrov has “more than 10 children”. One of his sons has been promoted and decorated after he had publicly beaten a prison inmate (Trevelyan 2023). Russian media often exaggerate the topic of violence in penal institutions obviously with the goal of mass intimidation. For example, the popular actor Leonid Kanevsky, the host and main person behind the NTV crime documentary series “The investigation led by...”
repeatedly makes exaggerating remarks on harassment and lynching in Russian prisons, using
the phrases like: “He didn't survive his jail term... Prison inmates don't like such people...”
Apparently, the goal is intimidating the population.

Kadyrov claimed that Chechens in Ukraine are participating in a holy jihad against the “Western Satanist ideology” (Sauer 2023). It seems that Putin is ready to share power with people of non-Russian ethnicity just to preserve the privileges of the Nomenklatura (Voslensky 1984), while the Ukraine war is used as distraction. Crises are often used by oligarchy to distract from internal problems (Harari 2022), from shortages of the healthcare in the first place (Jargin 2022). A commentary to the “Programme of Russian president V.V. Putin for the socialization of Islam in Russia” states that RF can contribute to modernization and economic growth of Islamic nations, while “RF would become a leader of the Islamic world” (Mikhailov 2024). Of note, North Caucasus regularly receives considerable federal donation: 70-88% of local budgets (Tavbulatova et al. 2021). In addition, federal funds have been purloined on a large scale in the North Caucasus (Litvinov & Zhuravel 2018).

## Donald Trump

We have not enough information to build a professional opinion. Psychiatrists have described Donald Trump as potentially dangerous, having symptoms such as grandiosity, impulsivity, hypersensitivity to criticism, inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality; thus questioning his fitness for the responsibilities of the office. Other designations included “detached from reality, self-centered, erratic, narcissistic, manic and paranoid” (Karl 2023); histrionic, delusional, senile etc. (Roth 2020). Trump himself has placed value on his paranoia as being one of the keys to success (Post & Doucette 2019). Furthermore, alleged narcissism led some critics to describe Mr. Trump as immature and childish (McAdams 2020). Presumably, Trump's outbursts of verbal aggression help to maintain his mental balance by affording him the feelings of a victor (Roth 2020). Although the diagnoses are usually made by qualified professionals, other experts have refuted such claims and determined that President Trump does not demonstrate any diagnosable mental illnesses. Repeated examinations found him physically healthy, not impaired cognitively, and made no recommendations for psychiatric consultations (Roth 2020). It is possible that Mr. Trump is a mentally healthy but somewhat reckless person. The future will clarify this: Russians will probably stay in the occupied territories; but Trump's proposals to acquire Greenland from Denmark, make Canada the 51st U.S. state, and seize control of the Panama Canal will remain inconsequential, serving only to create disarray among allies (Koschut 2020).
Trump administration has curtailed the support of Ukraine but continues sponsoring Israel. Apparently, certain spheres on both sides of the Middle Eastern conflict have acted for mutual benefit in receiving foreign aid: some get it from the West, others from oil-producing countries. The Camp David Accord was an efficient instrument of obtaining foreign aid. Israel had received more foreign aid from the United States than any other country since the World War II. After the Accords, American aid to Egypt increased considerably. The "Peace at Camp David" would not have been possible without massive economic assistance (Rustow 1982). Besides, Israel receives regular financial aid from Germany. In light of the Ukraine conflict, the double standards should be stressed: no sanctions have been imposed against Israel for comparable military actions. Many countries continue paying for the Middle Eastern oil, which is an expropriated property (concessions) of Standard Oil, Texaco and subsequently of Aramco (Arabian-American Oil Company). The following words by President Trump should be cited in this connection: "We've spent blood and treasure defending the people of the Middle East... And if any country in the Middle East won't sell us their oil at a fair market price – oil that we discovered, we pumped, and made profitable for the countries of the Middle East in the first place – we have every right to take it" (Post & Doucette 2019). In the wake of Palestine conflicts, host governments gained control of the fossil fuels by 1976. The concessionaire companies lost their concessions together with the power that went with them, along with a dramatic price increase (Shwadran 1986). This had been foreseeable, being probably a hidden motive of Arab-Israeli wars. The Soviets readily assisted.

The agriculture in conditions of insufficient water and energy supply is economically and ecologically unfavorable as fossil fuels are burnt for the water desalination. The water consumption and pollution in Palestine exceeds natural replenishment. It is expected that the gap between the water supply and demand will widen. Nuclear power plants (NPPs) could provide the energy for water desalting, but since NPPs are potential war targets, long-term peace is required. Apparently, one of the goals of the current warmongering is to maintain high prices for oil and natural gas. Today, nuclear energy has no alternatives. Long-term increases in the cost of non-renewable fossil fuels will enable energy-based blackmailing, contribute to the population excess in the areas that produce fossil fuels, and poverty in other parts of the world. Besides, NPPs have advantage in view of the climate change as they produce less greenhouse gas emissions (Markandya & Wilkinson 2007). To prevent accidents, an international executive centered in developed countries must oversee the global usage of nuclear energy [43]. Note that one of the causes of Chernobyl accident was negligence and disregard of written instructions
(Beliaev 2006; Mould 2000; Semenov 1995). Subsequently, Chernobyl has been exploited to strangle nuclear energy production worldwide thus maintaining high prices for fossil fuels.

In the 1860s, the number of Jews in Palestine was approximately 14,000 or 4% of the total population of 350,000 (Lynn 2019). From 1948 to 2002 the population of Israel increased from 806,000 to 6.3 million; including occupied territories to 9.8 million (Lahau & Arian 2005).

Combined with immigration, the population of the arid territory, largely dependent on the foreign help and water desalination, heads to 16 million by mid-century (Bricker & Ibbitson 2020). It is hard to answer the question, why Palestinian Christians and Muslims should cede the land, immobile property and water sources to immigrants from different continents, including those who declared themselves Judaists just because it was required for the “repatriation”. The existence of Israel can be justified if they participate in facilitation of access for the humankind to Middle Eastern energy resources. All politicians and nations mentioned here should cooperate in this imitative. So far, some of them have been decisive mainly in fratricidal activities. Oil-importing states have competed with each other, although a united front would help them to control the exporters. However, the crowning achievements of the “marching folly” (Tuchman 2015) were the world wars. Today, the most developed countries are moving in the same direction. The leaders of both world powers are repressing essential problems of global overpopulation and power shifts (Robertson & Jargin 2025), disputing instead with neighbors and relatives. Displaced aggression (substitution) does not affect those who provoked it, but rather the weaker ones. States sometimes become aggressive when they have internal difficulties, which may be facilitated by neurotic or psychotic leaders. Repression of pressing issues is not indicative of a strong personality; it may be associated with neuroses and other deviations (Menyhay 1985). Kirsten Gillibrand said that “President Trump is weak” (Post & Doucette 2019). In fact, all politicians discussed here are weak: they ignore demography-related dangers and parasitism on natural resources, attacking or threatening instead their neighbors and (former) allies.

Workable solutions must be found by means of negotiations. The question is, however, whether there are responsible negotiating partners. In conditions of democracy, as we can see today, administrations can rotate, and previous obligations pass into oblivion. The history of the 20th century demonstrated that European leaders sometimes took short-sighted decisions.

Undoubtedly, Russians should support civilization; but it would be preferable to know that right people and right policies are supported. The main thing is to avoid a large-scale war.

Consequences would be unfavorable for both sides, as it was 100 years ago, while winners will be those who stay outside.
There is not enough information to formulate a diagnosis, if any. It has been suggested that Zuma is a narcissist personality (Hogg 2018; Editorial 2019). Reportedly, his lacking sense of risk and concern around taking personal responsibility for prevention of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection had a trickle-down effect and impacted on public attitudes. He openly admitted to having had unprotected sex with a woman living with HIV, and remarked that he had taken a hot shower to minimize his chances of getting infected with HIV (Hogg 2018). The lack of responsibility demonstrated by the President had also another effect. In the rape trial, Zuma argued that his accuser had seduced him by wearing "revealing clothes". Supposedly, this resulted in the perpetuation of harmful and toxic notions of masculinity (Gumede et al. 2022). The singing by the President of the Dubula iBhunu song with its incitements to murder should be mentioned in this connection. Analogously, excessive masculinity is propagandized in RF, especially in Chechnya, led by the "hyper-masculine" Ramzan Kadyrov (Scicchitano 2021).

Coming back to Vladimir Putin, it should be recollected that the Soviet bureaucracy, where Putin had come from, destabilized some governments in Southern Africa, supporting and arming their adversaries. Considering inter-ethnic differences in birth rates and migrations, a similar future awaits RF. Liberal theories of democracy groundlessly suppose all ethnic and confessional groups to respect moral principles. Multiculturalists assume a safe world (MacDonald 2006) or "grass-roots reconciliation" (Evaldsson 2007); however, according to experiences of the Soviet, post-Soviet and some other societies, multiculturalism does not generally contribute to safety. The first census in South Africa (in 1911) put the White population at 22% of the total. In 1980 it was 16%, and in 2011 - 8.9%. There was much talk of the exodus. This tendency contributed, along with the lower natural growth rate, to the falling percentage of the country's White population. Until the 1970s and early 1980s, this "White flight" (also sometimes referred to as a brain drain) was partly ascribed to the fact that many of those leaving, especially those in the professional and upper social sectors, were opposed to the apartheid policy. Emigration of Whites has continued, with the ongoing difference in natural growth rates, but the motivation has changed. Corruption, violence, inefficiency and ongoing decay of the civic infrastructure, along with lack of opportunities for their children, now make up by far the most common reasons for this sector leaving South Africa. The country's population was estimated to be 60.6 million at the end of June 2022. In the early 1990s, the total population was about 35 million. In 2020 a United Nations report estimated 2.8 million 'international migrants' to be living in the country. In the
same year the number of people 'born in other countries' was estimated, by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), to be 3.9 million (Sirion Robertson, with permission).

Surgical sterilization would be particularly beneficial in areas with a high population density. For migrants, permanent sterilization might be considered as a desired or obligatory condition for a residence permit. So far, there is a variation in the CS frequency between ~44% in South America compared to ~4% in central and western regions of Sub-Saharan Africa [Ganeriwal et al. 2021]. In conditions of globalization this difference can be gradually balanced. Among advantages of globalization are the ecological management, governance of the world economy, control of warfare and fostering of transnational democracy (Giddens 2002; Ross 2002). A globally coordinated unemployment protection would inhibit migrations and help people to develop professional skills according to new demands (Ghislieri et al. 2018). Of particular importance is the globalization of human rights including tools and sanctions reinforcing accountability (Kim 2017).

Nations with high population growth should live in more constrained conditions. Demographic groups with a male predominance as a result of immigration or sex-selective abortions must bear the consequences of the gender imbalance. International understanding ought to be founded on the recognition of these concepts. An authority based in more developed countries could issue evidence-based recommendations concerning optimal fertility levels for different regions. That requires a high level of international cooperation, mutual trust and enduring peace. Regrettably, trust is sometimes exploited (Hardin 2009). The world's population will probably decline in the current century. We might still have some control over how this occurs, despite the haphazard warfare observed these days. It will not stay that way forever.

## Discussion

Paranoid individuals may dismiss disconfirming evidence and sanction a destruction of supposed enemies (Robins & Post 1997). Some of them are belligerent against delusional goals. A belief that others intend harm may lead to aggression. Paranoid leaders are constantly on alert against supposedly ever-present danger. In a crisis, they have a strong preference for what is seen as pre-emptive action. The paranoid may precipitate a crisis out of the belief that preventive action is necessary. Negotiations and diplomacy are viewed by them as either efforts to ratify the military status quo or exercises in deception. Another feature: overreliance on historic analogies such as World War II (Post 2005). This is what we observe in Russia today. The exaggerated care of war veterans is showcased today. They enjoy advantages in the healthcare and everyday life; there are, however, misgivings that the veteran status has been awarded gratuitously to some individuals from the privileged milieu. Many real veterans had been factually helped to the grave
in the period 1985-2000. It is known that percentage of alcohol-dependent people is relatively high among war veterans. During the anti-alcohol campaign (1985-1989), launched by Mikhail Gorbachev, they were forced to stand hours-long queues at retail outlets and/or to drink surrogates. After the failure of the campaign, the country was flooded by poor-quality alcoholic beverages and surrogates sold in vodka bottles through legally operating shops and kiosks. As mentioned above, the average life expectancy of men decreased to 58-59 years in the 1990s; details and references are in (Jargin 2016, 2022).

As for HS, differential diagnosis and exclusion of other conditions is difficult, because persons with HS do not usually collaborate in examinations (Selten 2023). On the contrary, politicians tend to conceal mental disorders (Owen 2016). Since hubristic leaders are contemptuous of the advice of others and reckless in strategic choices, early identification and prevention of HS is important (Selten 2023). It can be reasonably assumed that ruling classes with experiences of leadership have lesser risk of HS than unknown people promoted by bureaucracy.

Mental derangements in politicians are dangerous and must be diagnosed by psychiatrists on the basis of speech, language corpora, drawings and behavior. A language (speech) corpus is a large sample or collection of texts that can be subjected to analysis, sometimes leading to unexpected insights (Garrard 2016). Admittedly, studies of Vladimir Putin's publications may be of limited value because they seem to be written at least in part by his assistants. An attempt to analyze drawings by Putin's own hand has been made in the preceding paper by Jargin (2024).

## Conclusion

Child abuse has been thoroughly studied in developed countries. This evil has not been sufficiently counteracted in RF (Jargin 2023). In 2017, Vladimir Putin signed a new law decriminalizing some forms of domestic violence (Walker 2017; Wood 2024). Physical maltreatment was described in his biographies. Physical abuse in childhood and adolescence can induce psychological or psychiatric derangements, among others, persecutory delusions. Many people subscribe to delusions at large. It is possible for a majority to be deluded and a minority not to be deluded. Mental derangements in politicians are dangerous and must be diagnosed by psychiatrists on the basis of speech, language corpora, drawings and behavior. More expert opinion is needed in this area.

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