because westerners don’t know the language or care enough to check the policies

Maybe your common internet commentator does not check. But the western intelligence agencies check. They want someone like him in power in Russia over Putin. For 1) they'd own him, clearly they've done a lot for him and he would likely work with them, for 2) because he is a Nazi and ethnonationalist he would do for them what they've long sought to do which is break up Russia into smaller manageable ethnic chunks they can color revolution and control, his policies would drive and allow their intelligence agencies to further instigate into independence movements or at least long-burning terrorism that bogs down the state these tensions he'd create with the many ethnic groups in Russia. He's perfect for their aims. His views perfect.