It's hardly a shock that the head of the Catholic version of Christian mythology should support Putin. The RCC has always embraced tyrants, going back over a thousand years. Indeed, most religious leaders lean toward dictators because they both stem from the same fundamental causes. People want simple concepts, check. People want black-and-white thinkign, check. People want to be told what to do, check. People want enemies to fear and hate, check. People want a mythological structure they can reference to excuse their bestial behaviors, check. Nationalism and more traditional mythologies are identical in essentially every aspect (as I've written about in several articles here on Medium) so it can't be a shock that they are mutually supportive - though, as the religionists are usually rather stupid and obtuse, it's generally the dictators who come out on top in the relationship and get far more from it than the religionists, who are turned ultimately into mere obedient puppets.