It would be comforting to think that the death of Alexei Navalny will finally make Vladimir Putin an outcast on the international stage. But recent history and current political trends suggest otherwise. Unfortunately, it is more likely that Putin will continue to be respected – even admired – in much of the world, reports the Financial Times, as quoted by Rador Radio Romania.

No one should expect Xi Jinping to abandon Putin just because someone unexpectedly died in Russia. The Chinese leader shares Putin’s hatred of pro-democracy activists. More surprising, however, is that Putin still maintains friendly relations with the leaders of some of the world’s most powerful democracies.

In fact, it is entirely possible that all three of the world’s largest democracies – India, the US and Indonesia – will elect Putin fans as their leaders this year. Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia, Narendra Modi of India and Donald Trump of the US are known for avoiding condemning Putin internationally – for reasons other than real politics.

Prabowo won a landslide victory in Indonesia’s presidential election last week. His promotion to this position is extremely unsettling among supporters of Indonesian democracy. They fear that Prabovo intends to become a Putin-style dictator, and note that he has been accused of human rights violations during his military career.

Last year, Prabowo proposed a peace plan in Ukraine so beneficial for Russia that Kyiv rejected it, accusing it of being a “Russian plan.” Cornelius Purba, executive editor of The Jakarta Post, recently observed Prabowo’s “infatuation” with Putin and estimated that among voters, “many support the retired general because they are fanatical supporters of President Putin.”

In January, Modi and Putin had a friendly phone conversation in which they wished each other success in the upcoming elections. Modi, unlike Putin, will have to participate in real elections, which he will likely win comfortably.

Indian diplomats argue that Modi’s working relationship with Putin is simply pragmatism and national interest. India has bought a lot of Russian weapons and cannot sever relations immediately. And the Indian economy will benefit from cheap Russian oil.

To be fair to Modi, he even made a low-key public criticism of Putin in 2022, telling him that “today is not an age of war.” But since then, relations between them have warmed again, Putin recently called Modi “a very wise man.”

Jayver Shergill, a spokesman for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, responded to questions about Navalny’s death with a poignant statement: “Russia has been, is and will remain a loyal friend and ally of India.”

Putin’s anti-Western and anti-colonial rhetoric is very well received in India, where Modi has chosen to emphasize his qualities as an authoritarian nationalist leader who will finally free his country from its colonial legacy. India’s opposition says Modi is undermining the country’s democracy and using state institutions to impeach his political opponents.

The main opposition Congress party complained last week that its bank accounts were unexpectedly frozen. Its leaders accused Modi of wanting to suppress all genuine opposition, like Putin.

And then there is Trump. If Joe Biden accused Putin of responsibility for Navalny’s death, Trump did not say a word. Perhaps also because he was too busy to appeal the huge fines imposed on him by a court in New York. But Trump, who casually insults and invents nicknames, is famous for never criticizing Putin. On the contrary, he praised Putin, calling him strong and intelligent.

Some Democrats are very concerned about what Putin might do to Trump. But there may be a much simpler explanation. Trump genuinely admires Putin.

Trump’s broad circle of advisers and supporters has also long included fanatical admirers of Putin. Shortly after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Rudy Giuliani, a close adviser to Trump, said of Putin: “This is what it means to be a leader.” And even before Navalny’s death, Tucker Carson, a pro-Trump commentator, was probably still posting clips of him admiring the beauty of the Moscow subway.

Carlson has been so mesmerized by Russia’s pomp that he may have missed the fact that another authoritarian leader he’s made love to, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, is in trouble. Large-scale demonstrations took place in Budapest against the government involved in a pedophilia scandal.

The unexpected difficulties faced by Orbán are instructive. Authoritarian rulers know how to impress gullible foreigners with their nationalism and impeccable subways. But the locals usually understand the reality behind the facade.

Navalny specialized in highlighting and ridiculing the corruption and violence of Putin and his inner circle. He paid with his life for his bravery. It’s long past time for Putin’s foreign fan club to finally open their eyes to the terrible realities highlighted by Navalny.