Hillary Clinton says Putin has 'almost messianic belief in himself' and hates being criticized by women

• Hillary Clinton described dealing with Vladimir Putin and his "messianic self-belief."
• "Putin does not like critics, especially women critics," Clinton said, per The Guardian.

Hillary Clinton said spoke frankly about Russia's President Vladimir Putin Russia, saying he has a "messianic" self-belief, according to The Guardian.

Clinton was interviewed at the Hay literary festival in England on Thursday, the outlet said. She was asked about her reaction to the war in Ukraine and her own dealings with Putin — in which Putin lashed out at her for criticizing him.

During her time as Secretary of State, she saw "his almost messianic belief in himself and what he was destined to be," the paper reported her as saying.

Even then, she saw he had the "goal of restoring imperial Russia," she said.

She also said she saw the side of him that dislikes scrutiny, per the Guardian, saying: "Putin does not like critics, especially women critics.

When Putin was elected to his third presidential term in 2012, Clinton criticized the election as fraudulent, saying: "The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted," as The New York Times reported at the time.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters emerged after the election, as NBC reported. Putin blamed the protests on Clinton's statement.

She later backed down, saying the White House was prepared to work with him, per the Times.

"Putin then became very adversarial toward me with few exceptions," Clinton said on Thursday.

Putin's psychology has attracted scrutiny for as long as the US has been dealing with him — which has only ramped up since his invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Psychologists have attempted to understand his autocratic and authoritarian leadership, during which he has spent years attempting to cultivate a deeply macho image.

In May, Ukraine's head of military intelligence Maj. Gen Kyrylo Budanov claimed without evidence that Putin was in mental decline, in part due to chronic illness. (Experts have told Insider that there is "no credible evidence" Putin is ill.)