--- title: Americans Think Russia President Vladimir Putin is No Adolf Hitler description: A new poll says Americans don't view the Russian president as having anywhere near the menace of the Nazi leader canonical: https://time.com/47855/vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-adolf-hitler/ author: Dan Hirschhorn article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-03T07:40:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:33:44.576Z article:section: Politics og:title: Americans Think Russia President Vladimir Putin is No Adolf Hitler og:description: A new poll says Americans don't view the Russian president as having anywhere near the menace of the Nazi leader og:url: https://time.com/47855/vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-adolf-hitler/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaf51436c8d6d3d1/6986889f361760223d90b436/476603727.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3071 og:image:height: 1727 og:image:alt: Drill of Russian Army og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Americans Think Russia President Vladimir Putin is No Adolf Hitler twitter:description: A new poll says Americans don't view the Russian president as having anywhere near the menace of the Nazi leader twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaf51436c8d6d3d1/6986889f361760223d90b436/476603727.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Americans to Putin: You're No Hitler > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Apr 3, 2014 7:40 AM UTC  Vladimir Putin inspects Russian army drills near Leningrad in March. A vast majority of Americans view Putin as dishonest and untrustworthy, according to a new poll Vladimir Putin inspects Russian army drills near Leningrad in March. A vast majority of Americans view Putin as dishonest and untrustworthy, according to a new poll Anadolu Agency—Getty Images by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Apr 3, 2014 7:40 AM UTC Americans think Russian President Vladimir Putin [just doesn’t hold a candle](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/02/poll-americans-say-putin-not-like-hitler/?hpt=hp%5Ft3) to Adolf Hitler when it comes to evil foreign bogeymen, according to [a new poll](http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-and-centers/polling-institute/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2027). The Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday found that just 24% of Americans compare Putin’s military aggression toward Ukraine with Hitler’s belligerent moves in the run-up to World War II. A majority of Americans, just over 50%, say that comparison goes too far. Putin has increasingly become foreign enemy No. 1 to many Americans, especially in the wake of his country’s annexation of the Crimea region from Ukraine. NATO’s top commander, General Philip M. Breedlove, said in an interview Wednesday that the 40,000 Russian troops massed along the border with Ukraine [could invade with almost no warning](http://time.com/47759/nato-chief-says-russia-could-attack-ukraine-without-warning/). A vast majority of Americans view Putin as dishonest and untrustworthy, according to the poll. But Americans are also evenly split on who is the better leader, Putin or President Barack Obama. Eighty percent of Americans are either “somewhat concerned” or “very concerned” that the fight between Putin and Western powers could draw the United States into a military conflict. And Obama gets bad marks for his handling of the crisis: 47% disapprove and only 41% approve. 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