What Putin believes or doesn't doesn't matter: it's what he says, the same as those other guys you mention. 
 I have long thought that one of the great mistakes the Communists in Russia made was their avowed atheism. They should have supported the Church,  costs nothing and gains support. 
Putin knows this; whatever he is he's no dummy. 
I don't believe in any myths myself but if I was a politician I'd be in church every Sunday.