President Putin chosen ‘Person of the Year’

NEW YORK – Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ on Wednesday for imposing stability that restored Russia as a world power.

The magazine recognized Putin’s ‘extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability’, said Richard Stengel, Time’s managing editor. The magazine noted that ‘Person of the Year’ is not an honour or endorsement but a recognition of leadership that shapes the world.”He’s the new czar of Russia and he’s dangerous in the sense that he doesn’t care about civil liberties, he doesn’t care about free speech,” Stengel said.But in prizing stability over freedom, he has made Russia powerful again and beholden to no nation, the magazine said.Putin, 55, is enormously popular in Russia, presiding over a resurgent economy flush with revenue from oil and natural gas.But critics say he has moved away from democracy by tightening control of the courts, parliament and the media.Putin recently endorsed protégé Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential bid, and said he would accept Medvedev’s offer to serve as prime minister if Medvedev is elected March 2.Many believe Putin would remain Russia’s real leader, regardless of his title, though Putin has said he would not undermine his successor.The Kremlin said on Wednesday the Time recognition was seen there as an acknowledgment of Putin’s role in helping Russia pull out of its social and economic troubles in the 1990s.Putin is the fifth Russian or Soviet leader to be named Person of the Year: Gorbachev, Andropov, Khrushchev and Stalin, who was named twice.Nampa-APThe magazine noted that ‘Person of the Year’ is not an honour or endorsement but a recognition of leadership that shapes the world.”He’s the new czar of Russia and he’s dangerous in the sense that he doesn’t care about civil liberties, he doesn’t care about free speech,” Stengel said.But in prizing stability over freedom, he has made Russia powerful again and beholden to no nation, the magazine said.Putin, 55, is enormously popular in Russia, presiding over a resurgent economy flush with revenue from oil and natural gas.But critics say he has moved away from democracy by tightening control of the courts, parliament and the media.Putin recently endorsed protégé Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential bid, and said he would accept Medvedev’s offer to serve as prime minister if Medvedev is elected March 2.Many believe Putin would remain Russia’s real leader, regardless of his title, though Putin has said he would not undermine his successor.The Kremlin said on Wednesday the Time recognition was seen there as an acknowledgment of Putin’s role in helping Russia pull out of its social and economic troubles in the 1990s.Putin is the fifth Russian or Soviet leader to be named Person of the Year: Gorbachev, Andropov, Khrushchev and Stalin, who was named twice.Nampa-AP