Has Pootie-Poot lost the plot?

Is this guy a very clever statesman, or just bat-sh*t crazy? I've always wondered, mostly over pints, how bad things are politically in Russia. I mean, we hear all about the bad things the Bush administration does, and that forms a bad opinion of them (as it should) because of the extent of the media coverage on them. Russia, on the other hand, does everything in it's power to control and silence the media, from within and without. So, we hear nothing about what goes on there. What little that does leak out comes across as pretty bad. I have a nasty feeling that Old Pootie makes Bush look like a puss.

I knew they were in trouble when one of his first acts was to shut down MTV in Russia. Pootie no like the rock.

CBC News: Putin calls USSR's breakup 'catastrophe'

UPDATE: I love Fark for two reasons. 1) The headlines are hilarious. 2) The forums offer you a chance to see the raw, unbridled, head-in-assedness of people when they don't have to look you in the face to tell you their opinion. Typically American posters, see what they have to say about this story on Fark here.