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Reply With QuoteI admire Putin, The way he has made a turn-around for Russia is phenomenal.
TIME’s Person of the Year is Vladimir Putin
Russia’s president beats out Al Gore, J.K. Rowling, other big names for title
Video
Putin is TIME Person of the Year
Dec. 19: Managing editor, Richard Stengel announces exclusively on TODAY that Vladimir Putin is TIME Person of the Year for 2007.
Today show
Video
Who is Putin?
A look at the Russian president's life and legacy. NBC's Ned Colt reports.
NBC News Web Extra
By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 10:50 a.m. ET, Wed., Dec. 19, 2007
Eighteen years ago, Mikhail Gorbachev was named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year for leading the political revolution that tore down the Iron Curtain and broke apart the Soviet Union. This year, Vladimir Putin, the man who restored Russia to a leading role on the world stage, has taken that title.
The highly anticipated announcement was made live on Wednesday on TODAY by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel. He said that TIME’s readers had chosen author J.K. Rowling first in an online poll.
But Putin won the title for taking Russia from chaos to a position of importance in the world today. Being TIME’s Person of the Year is not necessarily an honor, in Putin’s case.
Stengel characterized Putin as dynamic but dangerous. “He doesn’t care about civil liberties, he doesn’t care about free speech. He was very bitter about the way Americans look at him and the way Americans’ treat him. He is an angry, angry man,” Stengel said.
Stengel said one thing that makes Putin extraordinary is that he is not interested in making people like him. “He has no charm,” Stengel said. “He is just pure force and pure force of will.”
TIME’s editors chose the controversial Putin over a list of candidates that included former Vice President Al Gore, who won a Nobel Prize for his battle against global warming; Rowling, who published the seventh and final chapter of her Harry Potter series; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the confrontational president of Iran; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Apple CEO Steve Jobs; Gen. David Petraeus, leader of the Iraq surge; and Chinese leader Hu Jintao.
Putin is the fourth Russian leader to be chosen Person of the Year. Joseph Stalin was named twice, in 1939 for signing the alliance that opened the doors for Hitler’s war on Europe and in 1942 for joining the Allies in World War II. In 1957, Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader at the height of the Cold War, won for leading the effort to put the first satellite in space. And in 1989, Gorbachev was on the cover for ending the Cold War.
Last year, the Person of the Year was “You,” the millions of people who have made the Internet a vital force of communication and culture.
Stengel said that Gore finished second in the opinion of the editors, with Rowling third, Hu Jintao fourth and Petraeus fifth. It was the first time the magazine ranked the runners-up.
Voters online chose Rowling first, Gore second, Ahmadinejad third, Rice fourth, Jobs fifth, Petraeus sixth and Putin a distant seventh.
But the Person of the Year isn’t a popularity contest. “We all grew up with Russia as this great superpower and rival to the U.S.,” said Stengel. “But in the ’90s, Russia was a basket case.”
Putin changed that, restoring political order — at the cost of civil liberties, his critics say — and world influence. With vast oil wealth and a 2,000-mile border with China, Stengel said, “Russia is really critical to the future of the 21st century.”
Russia’s Putin is TIME’s Person of the Year - TODAY: People - MSNBC.com
No Charm? I admire this guy and I'm Canadian!
I admire Putin, The way he has made a turn-around for Russia is phenomenal.
Obviously Time doesnt pick them according to human rights.
Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.
Putin hasn't really turned around Russia. If Yeltsin was in power, he would be popular among the Russians. Why? Rising oil prices. Putin has not been able to solve the problems that plagued USSR and post 1991 Russia, i.e., economic inefficiency, massive scale of corruption, a breakdown of law and order in the sphere of business, meaning that contracts on paper is nearly worth as the value of toilet paper. He hasn't solved those problems and by taking away civil liberties and failing or even directly contravening some of the business moves made in response to market forces, he has stunted the growth and capacity of Russian business to thrive in a market environment. The only reason you do not see this is because the rising oil prices has masked Russia and Putin's failures.
Not quite. He has actually managed to deal with a few of the problems, in particular corruption and the military are being dealt with. However overall he has not made any key economic reforms that would allow the growth of the Russian economy. And hey Hitler was Time's person of the year in 1938 iirc.
Not exactly true for two reasons. First, Putin's policy was one of the factors that caused rising of prices. Second, there's a question of how do you use high oil prices.Originally Posted by Blademaster
In uncontrolled market environment mining of raw materials was the only developping industry, just because it had highest investment/profit rate. High oil prices under Eltsin's system would've resulted in dutch disease and death of all other industries. So expensive oil could be the last nail for our coffin in the long run.
State interference allowed to use oil profits to develop other industries and infrastructure, and thus to start diversification of the economy.
Remember that the person of the year is not based on popularity or if he did something good. Its based on the person who made the most influence in the world. I agree that he made the most influence on that list.
I'm glad Rowling, someone with little influence in this world didn't get it, samething for Gore. Rowling may have entertained a lot of kids, but she did not influence the world at all, and influencing the world is what this is about.
Last edited by wkllaw; 20 Dec 07, at 02:52.
Those who can't change become extinct.
No. Putin has become popular rooting out corruption and making sure money out of Oil/Gas is channelled into other projects, namely infrastrucuture.
He made sure Gas prices went over the roof in Europe. Everybody was taking advantage of Russian situation in 1990's that includes India. More than Russia being a Oil/Gas economy, its future lies in technology. Though Russians have lost a decade, they are still in the race and are in the forefront of Tech Bussiness. Its Human capital is one of the best in the world.Rising oil prices. Putin has not been able to solve the problems that plagued USSR and post 1991 Russia, i.e., economic inefficiency, massive scale of corruption, a breakdown of law and order in the sphere of business, meaning that contracts on paper is nearly worth as the value of toilet paper.
You rather have the Oligarchs, and yes Putin isn't the angel of Human rights, but then again as Mikhail Khodorkovsky said, Putin is 70% more liberal than the Russian Population.He hasn't solved those problems and by taking away civil liberties and failing or even directly contravening some of the business moves made in response to market forces, he has stunted the growth and capacity of Russian business to thrive in a market environment.
You mean..... more liberal then 70% of the Russian population?
Most Russians would be happy to see uncle Joe, man of steel, back for a few years to clean up the mess.
You mean..... more liberal then 70% of the Russian population?
Most Russians would be happy to see uncle Joe, man of steel, back for a few years to clean up the mess.:PIn a 2004 letter from prison, where he is still being held, Khodorkovsky lamented: "Putin certainly is no liberal and no democrat, but nonetheless, he is more liberal and democratic than 70 percent of the population of our country."
Adux posted, “You rather have the Oligarchs, and yes Putin isn't the angel of Human rights, but then again as Mikhail Khodorkovsky said, Putin is 70% more liberal than the Russian Population.”
It is true Putin may have stomped out most of the Oligarchs of corruption, but he just replaced it by monopolizing corruption. Is this really a better outcome?
Although this is just a personal observation, and please correct me if I’m wrong, but does not Putin seem to dislike the resistance of control from Moscow, which is displayed by many of the newly formed breakaway countries from the Soviet Union? This seems to denote some kind of underlying feeling of maybe Putin desires to reorganize these principalities back into some form of a Moscow controlled Union?
Absolutely. In my mind Putin stated his foreign policy goals very clearly when he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union was one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.
AmosGraber and Feanor, I think it's better to discuss Putin's views, having first-hand information, isn't it? Putin talks about 'breakaway' countries and USSR collapse among many other topics:
Interview with Time Magazine
Headshot.Why do you think Mr Kasparov was speaking English rather than Russian when he was detented? Did this not occur to you? I think that first and foremost his deeds were not aimed at his own people but rather at a Western audience. A person who works for an international audience can never be a leader in his own country.
The Fall of Soviet Union caused quite a lot of damage to the Russians, economically speaking. Their stature as a world power came tumbling down to utter poverty. Ofcourse he is going to say it is a tragedy. I would, and thats not because of Soviet system or mentality, but rather what the transistion has brought to Russians in 1990's.
President of Russia
Last edited by Adux; 21 Dec 07, at 05:29.
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