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.