What would we do without Vladimir Putin? The Russian president has become the West’s favourite villain.

He is held responsible for most of the world’s ills — from the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president to the slaughter in Syria.

If his critics are correct, he is a very busy man.

In the United States he is viewed as a throwback to the old days of the Soviet Union. Much is made of the fact he used to work for the KGB, the former Soviet security service. Less is made of the fact that this is not unprecedented.

Former U.S. president George H.W. Bush also worked for his country’s security service. In fact, Bush was head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

These days, the Americans are consumed with Putin. Did his operatives hack the email accounts of the Democratic National Committee in order to leak material damaging to presidential contender Hillary Clinton? The consensus seems to be yes.

Did Russian operatives secretly film Trump engaging in unusual sexual practices in an effort to blackmail him?

The consensus here appears to be that nothing has been proven either way — although one could legitimately ask whether an openly public roué such as Trump is even blackmailable in sexual matters.

In Senate hearings this week, the key questions asked of Trump’s cabinet nominees revolved around Putin. Prospective secretary of state Rex Tillerson lost points for refusing to call Putin a war criminal. Prospective defence secretary James Mattis gained points for describing Putin as a threat to the global order.

Trump himself has infuriated both Republican and Democratic legislators by refusing to demonize Putin. Instead, he has taken the not unreasonable position that, if possible, he’d prefer to work with the Russian leader in areas of mutual concern.

This, incidentally, echoes the approach of outgoing president Barack Obama.

And yet it’s never enough. Putin has to be the bad guy.

When Western military forces help the Iraqi army bombard Mosul in an effort to win back the city, they are viewed as liberators. When Russian military forces help the Syrian army bombard Aleppo in an effort to win back that city, they are viewed as mass murderers.

What is it about Putin that so gets our goat?

Part of the answer is that he is not a nice man. He did seize Crimea from Ukraine. He does persecute political dissidents at home.

Even Trump now acknowledges that Putin “probably” interfered in the U.S. presidential election.

But other world leaders who are equally Putinesque don’t get the same treatment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping doesn’t even pretend to be democratic. Yet he is not denounced as a despot by Western governments.

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Indeed, in an effort to boost trade, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is avidly wooing Xi.

Saudi Arabia is bombing civilians in Yemen. Yet Canada sells the Saudis arms while the U.S. refuels their warplanes.

Like Russia, the U.S. has a record of disseminating false news, interfering in other countries’ elections and hacking the email accounts of even friendly foreign leaders. Yet it is rarely chastised for this.

When Russia seized Crimea (to which it has a historical claim), the West applied sanctions. When China built islands in international waters that it claims, the West complained but otherwise did nothing.

Trudeau named former immigration minister John McCallum to China in an effort to improve relations with Beijing. Yet he has so little regard for Russia that he appointed a foreign affairs minister, Chrystia Freeland, who is persona non grata in that country.

In all of these areas, there is a double — or even triple — standard at play.

Part of this is history. Countries like Poland and Estonia have good reason to be wary of Moscow’s kiss.

But part seems to be comfort. In an era of unpredictable terrorism, there is something reassuringly familiar about set-piece conflicts like the old Cold War.

Daesh, sometimes known as the Islamic State, confounds us. We don’t know when and where it will strike next.

With Putin, there is more certainty. He is a recognizable villain engaged in equally recognizable great-power politics. He harkens back to a time when the bad guys all wore black hats.

Thomas Walkom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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