Perhaps more than anyone else, Vladimir Putin has fascinated the world with his magnetic persona. He has credited his strategic negotiation skills to his training in the KGB. His ability to manipulate situations and people has shaped his interactions with world leaders, from intimidating Hillary Clinton to showcasing his tough persona through carefully curated images. This article explores the nuances of Putin’s negotiation style and what it reveals about his motives and desires.
Putin’s KGB training has armed him with what some of the world’s top Kremlin watchers call extraordinary people skills. In the process, he’s become a master of the most sophisticated negotiation arts. As a consequence, he’s usually at his most dangerous when making them feel uncomfortable or unsure. He has a habitual practice of keeping leaders waiting for hours from their scheduled time. This tactic serves to demonstrate his clear goal to protect the narrative and preserve the power dynamic.
Over the past few months Putin has made clear that he intends to use that power to shape the world stage. He proposed direct peace talks with Ukraine in Türkiye on May 15, signaling an ongoing interest in the geopolitical landscape. He is just staking a shitty, methodical claim to keep half of Ukraine. At the same time, he is playing a diplomatic shell game with the United States.
Manipulation and Theatre
Putin’s background as an officer in the KGB has heavily influenced how he has approached and seen the outcome of negotiations so far. He became an expert at “the art of bullshit.” This skillset has been hugely important when it comes to recruiting potential spies or negotiating with high-profile foreign leaders. Robert Horvath is an authority on Russian politics. He notes that not only was the intention to disarm his opponent’s resistance, but the intent was to disarm everyone that he met.
“The job was to make those people feel that you had a connection with them, that they could trust you.” – Robert Horvath
This extraordinary trust-building aspect comes with what some refer to as “theatre”. Today, if you’re an analyst studying Putin’s body language, go read John Lough. He describes the fear and concern that Putin instills into negotiations.
“I’m going to crush this guy.” – John Lough
Lough outlines how Putin’s body language can project an image of dominance, instilling a greater sense of insecurity in his counterparts. Even when he’s being pet or played with, CNN notes, he takes this “classic pose of aggression” up close. This position makes his already complicated relationships with other leaders more complex.
Strategic Image Crafting
To complement his psychological warfare, Putin has perfected the art of public relations. One of the best examples came in 2009 when he published images of himself bare-chested appropriating the steppes on horseback in Southern Siberia. This photo was meant to convey an image of dominance and hard as nails toughness, to go with the public image of his own making.
He deftly manipulated animals and our perception of them to advance his agenda. For example, he took his black Labrador Retriever, Konni, to a 2007 meeting with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, enhancing his emotional appeal while simultaneously performing a quiet dominance display. Merkel’s famous fear of dogs made what could have been an elegant encounter a humiliating display of dominance.
Lough notes that these kinds of moves are not just nonsensical fun. They’re strategic in negotiations.
“The Russians love foreigners who just got off the plane and don’t know anything about the country.” – John Lough
This strategic use of imagery and psychological manipulation showcases how Putin navigates international relations with a keen understanding of human behavior.
The Dynamic with World Leaders
Putin’s interactions with other world leaders often reveal his negotiating style’s dual nature: tough yet nuanced. When trying to convince Hillary Clinton through negotiations, he displayed an aggressive and intimidating body language. This tactic showed his brilliance at shaking up adversaries.
“How does this guy have the impudence to talk to me in this way?” – John Lough
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton once said that Putin can be very “hardass-y.” He employs the kind of negotiating style that often causes people to lose their cool. This duality is typical of Eastern negotiation styles marked with performance artistry and procedural domination.
Donald Trump offers insight into this landscape, describing negotiations involving Putin as having “a very Western-centric view of how you negotiate.” He noted Putin’s intelligence and strategic thinking, stating:
“I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy … He’s super smart.” – Donald Trump
This lens makes clear the degree to which Western leaders are consistently misunderstanding or underestimating Putin’s ability because of a cultural mismatch in negotiation styles.
Recent Developments and Implications
In April, Putin welcomed NYC-based real estate mogul Steve Witkoff to Moscow. This meeting is a testament to his hands-on approach and engagement with influential leaders in every industry. Witkoff has been called a “useful idiot” by suspicious analysts who argue he naively does Putin’s bidding.
Putin’s henchman commissioned “a really beautiful portrait” of Donald Trump. This is an important first step that signals his intention to create strong personal connections with powerful leaders and demonstrates his strategic disposition.
Tensions among world powers have surged, particularly in regard to Ukraine. Putin’s negotiation tactics and the international response to them will certainly shape international dialogues for years to come. His ambition for Ukraine and knack for shaping international narratives will be critical factors in how countries interact with him moving forward.
