Why President Vladimir Putin Won TIME Magazine's 2007 Person of the Year

In the 80^th consecutive year of TIME Magazine naming a 'Person of the Year', Russian President Vladimir Putin was chosen as the winner for 2007. Other nominees for the title included Al Gore, J.K. Rowling, Hu Jintao, and David Petraeus.

TIME magazine's process for selection is not an endorsement of the person or what they represent. It is merely a means of recognizing the individual or group with the most impact on the course of history for the year in which they are nominated. Adolph Hitler (1938) and the Ayatollah Khomeini (1979) have both been winners of Person of the Year.

Some individuals have been two-time winners. Among them are Joseph Stalin (1939, 1942), Harry Truman (1945, 1948), Lyndon B. Johnson (1964, 1967), Bill Clinton (1992, 1998 - shared with Kenneth Starr), and George W. Bush (2000, 2004).

Charles Lindberg was TIME Magazine's first winner (1927). One year, it was not even a person who won. The winner in 1982 was the computer.

So just what was it that set President Putin apart from the other year 2007 nominees? President Putin has continually been in the news during the 2007, due in part to his continual and vocal opposition to American President George W. Bush, and the decisions the American president made in the year, as well as in years prior.

President Putin has instigated heavy changes in his country, and has been a major player in world news and events. No longer is his country the Russia of the 1980's and 1990's. Many freedoms once enjoyed by her people have now been lost. The changes were made in the name of stability, but many question whether true stability has actually occurred.

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov's announcement that he was running for the office of Russian president brought even more attention to Vladimir Putin as well as his politics by means of Mr. Kasparov's continual criticism of both. President Putin and his people insist that the president's approval rating is strong with the Russian people. Mr. Kasparov disputed that in an interview with Bill Maher, "How do you know? Are you relying on the polling results of a police state? I think with the same tight control of media and a pervasive security force, I believe Bush and Cheney could enjoy the same approval rating here [in the USA]."

Out of the list of strong contenders, no one else could win but President Putin. The impact he has had on the world and history in 2007 is greater and longer lasting than that of any of the other nominees.

Al Gore won a shared Nobel Peace Prize that was hotly debated as being based upon faulty science. The most note-worthy thing he did for 2007 was win the Nobel Prize, which makes him more of a 'flash-in-the pan' contender. Clearly not enough to be declared the person who had the greatest impact in 2007.

Author J.K. Rowling made an amazing contribution to the world of children's literature for the past several years, however, in 2007 the only real news items of significance about her revolved around the end of the book series, a special limited-edition book she wrote, and her announcement after the fact that Professor Dumbledore is gay. Her impact was felt world-wide, but limited in scope to primarily literature, film, and youth. It is not enough to beat out President Putin.

China's Hu Jintao has been identified by Parade Magazine as the 4^th worst dictator of 2007. Their reasoning included the fact that the U.S. State Department has named at least 22 violations of human rights under his leadership. China has received massive amounts of press during 2007. Numerous product recalls, the upcoming Olympics, and flooding are only a few of the noteworthy events which put China on the lips of the world on an almost daily basis. President Putin's strongest competitor, Hu Jintao didn't quite make the cut, for reasons best identified by TIME magazine, ". . . what do we know about the man who leads [China], Hu Jintao? Not much." The mystery of who the man behind the dictatorship really is, coupled with his lack of making any true changes for his country could have been the biggest reasons behind him losing the Person of the Year title.

David Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq, has been a driving force behind some of the success seen in Iraq in 2007. With the massive worldwide outcry against America's continuing presence in Iraq, he has carried a massive burden on his shoulders under the scrutiny of the globe. Though his undertaking has been great, his name is not nearly as well-known as those of the other contenders, and it is likely his contributions will be forgotten as soon as America is out of Iraq.

As he wraps up his time as the leader of Russia and moves into serving as its prime minister, President Putin leaves behind a legacy of change that only time will bear up as lasting . . .or not.

A final interesting note about President Putin winning Time Magazine's Person of the Year title is his tie to another Russian leader who was a Person of the Year winner. President Putin's grandfather worked as a cook for two-time winner, Joseph Stalin.

SOURCES:

Putin and Time: The View from Russia. Yuri Zarakhovich. December 20, 2007. TIME Magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1697072,00.html
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Garry Kasparov on Bill Maher. KLBrezhnev.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRvb9gO-XDA
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

'You' Named Time's Person of the Year 2006. December 17, 2006, 03:26 GMT . BBC News (online).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6187113.stm
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Time's Man of the Year. Jennifer Rosenberg. About.Com- 20^th Century History.
http://history1900s.about.com/library/weekly/aa050400a.htm
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Person of the Year 2007: Choosing Order Before Freedom. Richard Stengel. TIME Magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1690757_1696150,00.html
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Will Al Gore Make Peace with Reality? Steven Milloy. December 13, 2007. JunkScience.Com
http://www.junkscience.com/ByTheJunkman/20071213.html
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Who is the World's Worst Dictator? December 21, 2007. Parade Magazine.
http://www.parade.com/articles/web_exclusives/2007/02-11-2007/dictators04.html
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Profile: Hu Jintao. September 16, 2004 13:50 GMT 14:50 UK. BBC News (online)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2404129.stm
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Person of the Year: Runners Up: Hu Jintao. Orville Schell. TIME Magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/1,28804,1690753_1695388_1695753,00.html
(Accessed December 21, 2007)

Person of the Year: Runners Up: David Petraeus. Joe Klein. TIME Magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695379,00.html
(Accessed December 21, 2007)