Don't blame it on him coming from Russia, nor their government. It's always been conservative under Orthodox Christianity, and don't forget that many adhere to Islam as well. The Communists under the Soviet Union couldn't even kill religion, so I think that bears testament to the culture's currents. Communists, as you know, espouse equal civil rights for all people and view everybody with having the same dignity - but the Church and Stalin had their way. No propaganda is necessary for people to have old-fashioned views. In fact, Russian society is becoming more liberal all the time. It's no longer viewed as a mental disorder. The conflict you see between liberals and reactionaries okay conservatives (reactionaries is a bit strong) is largely due to the backlash against a liberalizing society. Russia being a democracy and Putin being a conservative politician, means political forces can piggy-back on the undercurrents of society. I think it's a generalization, but I tend to blame everything that goes wrong in a democracy on the people, instead of the government.