putin - man of the year

time magazine has named vladimir putin as their 'man of the year' which i find very interesting. he's a leader of such dichotomy. on one hand he seems to have put russia back under an iron grip and restricted many of the freedoms we take for granted and which russia seemed destined to embrace. on the other, he's brought economic prosperity to the country and stood up to the multinational oil companies in a way few others would have the balls to do. he seems to have such massive popularity in russia and there's no denying he's elevated the country back into a position of power in the world. i guess time will judge the merits of his time in power.