Vladimir Putin’s TIME Honor Necessary for Geopolitical Honesty
Thursday, December 20th, 2007
The uproar over Russian leader-for-life Vladimir Putin being named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year shows how out of touch the media is about Russian affairs. The American public and the media lens it uses to look at world affairs have been preoccupied with a war on terror and specific wars against Afghanistan and Iraq. We also seem to be overwhelmed by Chinese affairs given their role as a bookie for our national finances and a producer of most of our consumer products. I think TIME got it right with the choice of Putin.
Putin has helped lead Russia into prominence over the last eight years whether outside observers approve of his methods. His autocratic approach is familiar to Russians who have had very little experience with democracy throughout their history. Russia has gone from a shell of a superpower based on its restrictive economy to an economic player with the raw materials to draw interest from the United States, Japan, China and the European Union. The announcement that Putin would take over the position of prime minister in March 2008 if his endorsed successor wins election means that this influence will continue for the foreseeable future.
The editors at TIME recognized that their choice would be unpopular with intellectuals concerned with promoting autocracy and a general public in love with J.K. Rowling and Al Gore. Vladimir Putin sits at the top of a rejuvenated nation that will figure prominently in the plans of the next global conflict whether it is ideological, economic or military. Harry Potter and Al Gore will not have the same influence over the next decade since neither has the resources available to the Putin machine. For better or worse, Vladimir Putin was the most interesting and significant person in 2007.
