Usually I would place a politician’s somatotype information on the page specifically devoted to that. But Putin is not just another politician. Overnight he has changed the power landscape from a monopolar world dominated by the USA into a multipolar world. This is a very critical situation. China, India, Brazil and even Israel aren’t interested in Cold War 2.0 They are open to new financial exchanges where they can carry on trade and this recent turn of events has provided an opportunity for experimentation.
There are many books that attempt to unravel Putin’s personality. These books rely on prescientific notions that personality is formed by a person’s environment. Studies of twins reared apart suggest that a large and very significant component of personality is determined at conception and authoritarianism is one of those traits. Some have tried to claim that Putin’s career as a KGB Lieutenant Colonel made him the way he is today. Did the KGB create Putin or did Putin’s personality fit the qualifications of a KGB agent? Some even suggest that Putin is crazy and out of touch with reality. If a person had serious adaptation problems it isn’t likely they would have had a fairly long marriage and a successful career. He did fairly well on his job. He proved himself capable of adapting to the New Russia. The mayor of Saint Petersburg found Putin to be reliable and trustworthy and was able to recommend Putin to Yeltsin’s circle. Yeltsin and other very astute power players agreed with Yeltsin’s choice of Putin as the successor. This was an extraordinary appointment for a man without a constituency who had never been elected to ANY political position. Men in power, and those who seek great power are often out of touch with reality. Their admirers call them men of vision. What is a vision? It isn’t a collection of easily achievable goals but rather the pursuit of the difficult or seemingly impossible.
I prefer to put all these things aside and look at the person in more objective terms. What does their body say about how nature has configured their constitution?
Let’s Look at Putin’s Somatotype
Putin’s propensity to “show-off” has made it fairly easy to make an accurate assessment of his somatotype. The internet is loaded with pictures of Putin removing his shirt and baring his chest . W.H. Sheldon would probably classify Putin as an extreme mesomorph. Here are the numbers: 2½, 6½,1½,
Putin Is:
Endomorphy: 2½ (Visceral)
Mesomorphy: 6½ (Muscular)
Ectomorphy: 1½ (Nervous)
Balance: 3.0 (Orientational or Sensory system dominance [not to be confused with Jung’s Sensation function])
Trunk Index: 1.75 (Area of Thoracic Trunk divided by Area of Abdominal Trunk)
Height: 66.6inches
Weight Pattern (pounds @ age): 145 @ 20 -163 @ 30 – 176 @ 40 –185 @ 50
Simple Temperament Description:
Muscular-Orientational-Visceral-Nervous
Putin is extremely muscular with the remaining components fairly close. Having his nervous system last makes him stubbornly unconcerned about conventions and conflict over details.
There are no written tests that are 100% compatible with somatotype, the D-I-S-C inventories are generally in range of what a somatotype would predict. Click on Axiom Sofware’s Description of D-I-S-C Personalities This is one of the best locations I’ve found for this information. When you link to the site check the following boxes for Putin’s type: Extreme Dominance
1. D = DOMINANCE HIGH
2. I = INFLUENCE MODERATELY LOW
3. S = STEADINESS LOW
4. C = COMPLIANCE LOW
This type of person can be found in the executive suites of many companies. They seek results which they measure as success. They pursue their goals with intensity (muscular) always looking (Sensory) for the short cuts that will get the job done quickly. They have high confidence that they can achieve their most optimistic vision. They prefer tasks that are especially challenging because they hate being bored. The third position is an area of indifference. Endomorphy in the third position means that their close relationships will lack a strong sense of attachment (Visceral Feeling). The fourth position represents what he avoids. He avoids situations where he is rewarded only for being compliant. He wants the tough job so he can prove himself. He wants to be rewarded for something more than just showing up. He can play the servant role for only a very short time. When the obstacle to reaching his goal is blocked he will break out in more intense activity rather than suffer the feelings of inadequacy. In the worst situation this can unleash uncontrollable rage.
John McCain is somewhat similar to Putin. If a John McCain were president of the United States he would send in troops to challenge Putin directly. That would bring the world to the brink of a nuclear war because Russia would most likely lose in that kind of confrontation. But if Putin thought he would lose he wouldn’t hesitate to use the nuclear option. The planners in the State Department have chosen a strategy of incremental isolation of Russia using economic tools. The world is a big place and Putin can easily find people who will buy his oil and even use an alternative banking system and currency to carry on business. When economic pressure fails the US will be tempted to assert itself more aggressively perhaps by placing nuclear missiles closer to Russia. Putin would probably destroy those installations thus inviting NATO retaliation.
The main point is that the only good way out of this is to try the non lethal tools at your disposal. It at least slows the process down. It also gives time for rational minds to prevail. The reality is that Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons and the USA has thousands of nuclear weapons. Neither Russia nor the USA have a no-first-use (NFU) policy. Russia has made it clear that in the face of overwhelming military confrontation they would use nuclear weapons. It is not wise to back a person like Putin into a corner. The one thing Western leaders must avoid is the trash talking intended to humiliate Putin.
Mesomorphic arrogance get’s all leaders into trouble.It is time for an endomorphic response of “live and let live”.