I think the reason the Left have chosen Vladimir Putin as a bad guy is because they've run out of bad guys against which to carry out their righteousness crusades, and without a bad guy to fight against they no longer have a cause to monetize.

The same goes for why the Left attacks Trump, more or less.

Without a bogey man, the Left can't make money.

If they run out of bad guys to monetize, they will eat themselves.

For them faux moral nitpicking is how they make money.