That is the ultimate answer to the question of dictators being born or raised. As with most nature-nurture questions, it’s both in varying degrees of balance. In 2000, Putin didn’t know he wanted to be a dictator. (Unlike Hitler and Stalin, whose early writings and statements made their dreams all too clear.) Insider stories from 1999 even suggest Putin was alarmed by Yeltsin’s proposal to resign early and thrust him into the presidency early. Putin’s instinct was to align himself with power and to bring power to himself. Anything he didn’t control was something he couldn’t trust. His solution was to try to control everything. Unlike the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union, which handed all control to the system, Putin aimed for the totalitarianism of one person: himself.
— Winter is Coming (Garry Kasparov), Loc. 1735–41