Yeh I'm starting to think the liberals took that Simpsons episode as theory or fact.

Putin is a nationalist and pro-capitalist who stabilized the oligarchic class in their ascent during Russian capitalist transformation. He clearly sees a key part of his historical role as stabilizing and allowing for more sustainable development of the private sector. He didn't want to slow down privatization (Imo this showed he is astute as a politician because he understood the nature and relation of a state to its capitalism society). His promotion of capitalism does also seem like a kind of pragmatic, instrumental choice by a nationalist, who thinks that stable capitalism is what is in Russia's national interest. Recent pressure on the more liberal central bank indicate this political pragmatism.

He despises Lenin due to his limits on private capitalist initiative, his atheism and because he blames the Bolsheviks for their federalism wrt Ukraine etc. For a great russian nationalist like Putin Ukraine and Belorussia are still Russian, just part of the greater Russia.

When he says that he thinks the fall of the USSR was one of the great tragedies of the 20th century he is speaking as a Great Russian nationalist. The USSR seems to have had an ideological function for him (like many modern Russian nationalists and fascists) insofar as, if you're going to appropriate anything in championing Russia's historical successes in every domain of life, it makes sense to appropriate aspects of Soviet history, because Russia was never more powerful or successful.