Putin, like another politician we all know and admire, clearly views successful athletes as an extension of himself and his regime, so the revelations regarding the Russian doping program, and their consequences, have to be a terrible blow to him.
Here’s the pathetic thing: can’t you imagine a President Trump pushing for a similar American doping program to prove that he’s a “winner?” Of course you can. In Trump’s Social Darwinian jungle, everything is permitted except weakness, and nothing matters except his ego.