The "fortress under siege" mantra has had a long life in Russia (and in now the former USSR), maybe the 1990s were a short reprieve in that respect (when parts

The "fortress under siege" mantra has had a long life in Russia (and in now the former USSR), maybe the 1990s were a short reprieve in that respect (when parts of the Russian elites genuinely wanted to integrate the Western institutions) but generally speaking I'd say that ever since 1917 most of the Russian elites have seen the outside world as "them", as the "other that wants us down". It's not a "one man thing". This "hitlerification" of Putin hides a lot of facts on the ground, to the detriment of the West, which is why maybe they've dialed that discourse down a little in the last two weeks or so.