Putin named Time Magazine 'Person of The Year'

Each year, Time Magazine names a person or persons that are found to be so influential that they, in one way or another, demand public attention. The 2007 person of the year was announced today and while the nominees ranged from the beloved novelist J.K. Rowling to the extremely controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It's important to note that the 'Person of the Year' is in no way a gauge of popularity and whereas this year's winner is seen as favorable by 70% of his fellow countrymen, Russian Vladimir Putin is definitely seen as controversial among Americans. Some political pundits fear that Putin represent a return to the old ways of the Soviet Union with rights activists criticize his hard line approaches, which have included the limitation on free speech. And while there is little doubt that Putin has seemingly brought Russian out of the dark depths of the 1990s, his direction for the country is unclear.