The leader you've just described doesn't exist, since even the most totalitarian leader is still a politician and thus must consider the interests of his power

The leader you've just described doesn't exist, since even the most totalitarian leader is still a politician and thus must consider the interests of his power base. In order for Putin to be the leader you want him to be, he has to disregard his rent-seeking siloviki buddies, not to mention feudal lords like Ramzan Kadyrov, which he obviously can't if he wants to remain in power. He is still to a large extent dependent on them. Of course, Putin might be better than the siloviki ruling by themselves, but it's hardly an improvement on a disfunctional liberal democracy.