I don't like using terms like "evil" in foreign relations, it's projecting a very simplistic moral world view (who defines "good" and "evil"? Evangelical Christians, Progressives, etc.). To Putin, the murder of Russian spies who turned on the regime is justified, he considers treason to be punishable by death, though he has a wider view of what constitutes "treason" than many in the West.
However, while Putin isn't a p***y cat, he isn't as repressive as the Communist regime, he's an autocrat who stifles any organized dissent but isn't concerned with thought control. The country is a Kleptocracy kept afloat on a sea of oil, which is not sustainable for a number of reasons - but for Putin, "apres moi, le deluge." If his rule resembles anything, it would be the old Czarist model (and their secret police) and his coterie of Nobles (Oligarchs).
His foreign policy is based on nostalgia for the Russian (not Soviet) Empire, he knows Eastern Europe will never accept Russian domination, so he focuses on the traditional Russian sphere of influence, the Black Sea as a Russian sea (Ukrainians blew it, they should have leased the Crimea to Russia so they could get the Russians to officially accept Ukrainian rights because Putin was not giving up that Naval base), but bottled in by Turkey, the Baltic states as vassal states, Belarus as part of Russia, and so on. Russia has always seen the Ukraine as part of their sphere of influence, it was stupid for anyone in NATO to suggest the Ukraine could join the western alliance. He uses the pretext of "Russian speakers" to push that agenda. He'll align with autocrats in countries like Poland, but knows historical animosity limits his influence.
The problem for Putin is Russia is becoming a failed state, the long-term outlook for Russian oil production (it is very expensive to develop new fields in Siberia) and world oil prices is not rosy, the birth rate is below replacement, talented young people without connections would like to emigrate, and so on. He lacks the economic clout to have much influence around the world, and militarily is limited by resources and geography. His focus on Europe and the US ignores the real threat to Russia, Chinese encroachment in Siberia and Central Asia. But this is not surprising, Putin spent his KGB time in East Germany, he's an old cold war warrior who chafes at Russia's second tier status in the western world. So he engages in low cost harassment of Western countries, exposing how weak Russia has become.
Domestically, Putin isn't obsessed with suppressing dissent like the Communists, as long as he can control the media, rig elections, and crush any real opposition movement, he's not going to round up thousands merely for complaining about the regime. But it would behoove anyone with ambitions to censor their selves, especially on social media. Potential employers don't want the stigma of hiring people with the "wrong attitudes." Low profile athletes are fine, but the better players might find life uncomfortable if they garner too much attention.
Russians have always been nationalistic, with an inflated sense of self-importance, bolstered by the Russian Orthodox Church reinforcing the concept of Russian exceptionalism. So it's not surprising that they support Putin's efforts to try and punch in a higher weight class and raise Russia's profile in the world. As long as the oil flows, and prices remain high enough to subsidize the rest of the economy, the system will persist. But if oil collapses again for an indefinite period, all bets are off. The Russian economy is primarily a third world, resource heavy model (oil and agriculture), what was the last Russian product you bought?