Putin is a dictator and a tyrant, but other forces sustain him – and the west needs to understand them | Simon Jenkins

Kneejerk criticism of regimes in Russia, China or India may make us feel better, but there's no evidence it is making the world a safer place

The west's derisive reporting of Vladimir Putin's election victory this week was a mark of his success. It was described as an abuse of democracy, rigged", fixed" and a sham". The other candidates were shadows, while Putin's true opponents were imprisoned, exiled or dead. According to this narrative, the 87% who voted for him were mere victims of coercion, the queues of silent protesters were the stars.

Putin's vote had nothing to do with democracy. It was a rerun of his 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, a global dressing-up, a rallying of support. As he celebrated his win to an adoring crowd in Red Square on Monday, we saw Putin as the new Ivan the Terrible against a backdrop of Ivan's St Basil's cathedral. He even made an offhand quip about his murdered rival Navalny. The image was of absolute power smilingly defying the enemy. Two years ago, he was supposedly crippled by western sanctions. We don't hear that now.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist