Is Putin Religious?

 Is that his baptismal cross that he wears?  This article from Unheard labels Vladimir Putin as the Orthodox Savior.  It claims that he wants to reclaim Christendom, that's why he wants Kiev.

Emperor Basil II, based in the glorious city of Byzantium, reached out to his enemies, the pagans over in the land of the Rus. Basil II was a clever deal maker. If Vladimir of the Rus would help him put down the revolt, he would give him the hand of his sister in marriage. This was a status changer for Vladimir: the marriage of a pagan to an imperial princess was unprecedented. But first Vladimir would have to convert to Christianity.

Returning to Kyev in triumph, Vladimir proceeded to summon the whole city to the banks of the river Dnieper for a mass baptism. The year is 988. This is the founding, iconic act of Russian Orthodox Christianity. It was from here that Christianity would spread out and merge with the Russian love of the motherland, to create a powerful brew of nationalism and spirituality. In the mythology of 988, it was as if the whole of the Russian people had been baptised. Vladimir was declared a saint. When the Byzantine empire fell, the Russians saw themselves as its natural successor. They were a “third Rome”.

Kiev is the city St. Vladimir chose for baptism. A few years ago, the Ukrainian Orthodox broke from the Russian Orthodox. Ukraine called it a victory but Patriarch Kirill said the Ukrainian Church was under his jurisdiction.  Putin attempts to fix it.  This Vladimir identifies himself with St. Vladimir.

I don't hear or read this theory anywhere.  Could it be possible?  Religious wars are the direct opposite of religion.  The juxtaposition of the word religious next to war, makes it an oxymoron.