Within Russia it will make him seem very important. There is a slight distorting effect when you've never got out to see the world that your own bit of it and the events there are of supreme importance. It is my guess that guys like Cde P are playing to the local audience at least as much as overseas because they really have a lot invested in staying in power. An issue of minor importance to the US takes on epic proportions in Russia.
I think fellows like Cde P love any chance to show they've thumbed their noses at the Americans and, further down the list, at Britain. This is essentially because their minions and those who dream of becoming their minions feel inferior to Americans and, down the list, Britons and have to be encouraged to revile something that they are obviously attracted by. He has to give them an example of how he is strong and the people they secretly admire are weak. If you offered them a US passport they'd be off tomorrow but since they are stuck they might as well enjoy chewing on Cde P's sour rasins.
You can see it in Britain where some people claim to hate Americans and then display all the vile arrogance that they accuse Americans of having whilst claiming to have a much better sense of humour and being smug about how modest they are. Meanwhile the same people tend, in my limited experience, to slurp up American TV, films and music. It seems to me that there are manipulative types in the UK who like to encourage all of this because you can't have your serfs admiring someone else and not listening to you.