Although I don’t usually comment on politics in this blog, I’m always interested in what’s going on in the political world. Chris Erb (from Doing Biz Abroad) and I have been asked to comment on the most influential politician in the world today. The person we thought was most interesting is certainly Vladimir Putin, who in December was named Person of the Year by TIME magazine.
I’m not sure it’s correct to use the term “Baby Boomer” to describe someone not born in the U.S., but his age (birthdate October 7, 1952) places him square in the era of current president Bush and the Clintons. At 55, he is certainly primed to be in a leadership position in Russia for many years. He is an extremely popular man in Russia.
In a radio broadcast in October of 1939, Winston Churchill said, I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.”
That thought is still true today. On the one hand, Putin has initiated many projects for the improvement of Russian society and the economy, with major initiatives in health care, housing, education and agriculture, and he has reformed the judiciary. A stable Russia is certainly not a bad thing for the world. On the other hand, he has stifled free speech and rigged and cancelled elections. Sounds like a return to the old Russia we remember.
Max Hastings in the Daily Mail called him the “new Tsar” and “Stalin’s spiritual heir.”
Putin says he is creating a “sovereign democracy” which sounds like an oxymoron to me.
(The choice of Putin as Person of the Year has been criticized by many, including Garry Kasparov, who reminds us that Hitler was named TIME Man of the Year in 1939.)
The word is “influential.” Hitler is my choice for “most influential” person of the 20th century. And Putin is shaping up to be an influential politician in the 21st.
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