Putin's style of leadership requires centralized control of quite a few state and media organizations and a quasi-dictatorship that I dont see happening in the Gallente. Putin's style of heroic image crafting wouldnt work in the face of constant tabloid coverage and intense media scrutiny that I would imagine constitutes the Gallente media. Strong men like poverty, instability and/or economic upheaval for their people (that they can blame on other factors/people), at least while they solidify power, it makes them willing to look to and accept extreme measures. The Gallente havent seen a lot of that, at least as far as I know.
Russia has a tradition of leaders creating and promoting a glorified image (Stalin comes to mind, Peter the Great, etc), Putin's no different, just really good at it (as any ex-KGB agent likely would be). Gallente seem to lack that tradition as well. (That said, Roden doesnt seem too terribly far off)