Hello, need help with translate some part of text about V. Putin:

Putin has been vilified by the West - but he is still a great leader
By JOHN LAUGHLAND

I had expected to find Vladimir Putin cold, sinister and aggressive.

Waiting to meet the Russian President at the Valdai discussion club, an annual meeting of academics and journalists who specialise in Russia, I recalled the tasteless pictures of him published this summer, showing him bare-chested and wearing a gold chain on a fishing trip to Siberia.

Putin seemed a vain macho-man, more concerned with his physique than his dignity, a powerful and ruthless leader in charge of an increasingly belligerent and heavily armed state.

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Yet as soon as he entered the room, he seemed to be the opposite of his caricature.

He smiled a lot, his body language was relaxed and informal, his eyes were soft and his speech quiet.

In fact, as he answered questions for three hours, Putin generated no aura of anger or intimidation.

He has an amazing command of facts and spoke without notes or prompts.