If we want to classify Vladimir Putin in the left-right scale, we should consider him a right-wing, both on economic and social issues.
But on foreign policy, he is close to Raul Castro, Maduro and Tsipras.
This is only because he's very close to every leader who hates either the US or/and EU. Every single one of them. He absolutely adores to hate the US and EU (as well as NATO).
He's against US and EU because they're the main representants of the ruling order, something he wish to overturn to "restore Russian greatness". If China was representant of the ruling order, Moscow would seek alliances with USA and EU. Putin think of Russia as a natural equal of USA, and it's just a short term weakness which keep Russia down. He doesn't recognise the structural weakness which mean that Russia will never (at least in out lifetimes) be a equal of USA and in fact new powers are rising above it. Of it was not for the Russian nuclear arsenal Russia would not even be a equal of Germany, France or UK, but more a equal with Italy.
