Time Magazine declared Vladimir Putin, the Russian President as the Person of the Year for 2007. Putin won over the former Vice President Al Gore and J.K. Rowling, the author of the popular book “Harry Potter”. This news created violent reactions from Russian people. The managing editor of Time, Richard Stengel, pointed out that Putin is not a good guy but he has done extraordinary things.

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of Kremlin said that this controversial Time Magazine title was an acknowledgment of Putin’s role in bringing Russia out of economic and social troubles during the 1990′s. Peskov also stressed out that Putin was also responsible for restoring the national pride of Russia.