You want a conspiracy theory? I got some history to spread on your conspiracy bagel.
The Russian Czars took their name from "Caesar." While not the first Roman Dictator ("one who leads") for Life (Sulla holds that distinction), Caesar was the first to not step down. A dictator was only elected in time of extreme war (Historically, pre-empire Rome saw its armies lead by Consuls, who were elected to one year terms).
Julius Caesar ticked off folks back in the senate during his early political career and was fully aware that his open use of bribes and other less-than-legal means of getting his own way would come back to bite him the second he left public office (as holding select military and public service positions granted immunity from certain kinds of prosecution). So in order to prevent his issues from coming home to roost, he continued to hold public office and climb the ranks.
His middle to late military career was defined by civil war and his reign was predicated on his ability to keep Rome safe though the judicious use of force (and the winning of civil war battles) against "Rome's" (read "his") enemies such as Pompey the Great (who, ironically, was Caesar's political ally in the first Triumvirate. The irony comes from Pompey's later in life Pro-Republican platform after helping Caesar strip power from the senate earlier in his career). Since the troubles had been going on before Caesar came to power, it was assumed they would continue after which is why his dictatorship was perpetually renewed.
The Roman Emperors (Who started as Imperators, also another word for Commander), started a direct lineage of using both force of arms and of wealth (It was estimated that during the Golden Age of the Roman Empire, the Emperor controlled half of Rome's GDP) to protect and control their nation. This philosophy continued unbroken from the roman emperors to the gothic kings who then became the European Monarchies to end up in Russia.
The emperors, kings, and czars all fashioned themselves as protectors of their respective realms and without someone to protect their realm from, they were in danger of falling out of favor. Finding an enemy to fight was and is an important part of ruling.
TL;DR: First you get the military power, then you get the wealth, then you get the ladies.