Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for imposing stability that restored Russia as a world power.
The magazine recognized Putin’s “extraordinary feat1 of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos2 and bringing it stability,” said Richard Stengel, Time’s managing editor.
In Russia, girls think he is the ideal boyfriend. Thousands of Japanese teenagers applied for just a few minutes to practice judo3 with him. His cool image is on the front pages of newspapers and magazines around the world.
Putin isn’t a child of destiny4. He is born in Leningrad to a factory foreman5 in 1952. His family had a rare link with power, though. His grandfather was close to the core of power: he once cooked for Joseph Stalin, one of the most powerful leaders in Russia’s history.
He entered Leningrad State University’s law department in 1970. The KGB targeted him for recruitment6 even before he graduated in 1975. His career path changed when he became acquainted with Anatoly Sobchak, a leader in the first wave of democratic reformers in the Gorbachev years.
When he took over as President of Russia in 2000, he found a country on the verge of becoming a failed state. In his 8 years as president, he has guided his nation through a remarkable transformation. He has restored stability and a sense of pride among citizens. Russia’s economy has grown an average of 7 percent a year for the past five years. Under his strong leadership, Russia is back at the table of world power.
Putin has developed lifelong passions for judo and spy novels since he was a young boy. He relaxes by listening to classical composers like Brahms, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. His favorite Beatles song is “Yesterday”.
He is married to Lyudmila Alexandrovna Putina, with two daughters, Yekaterina and Maria.
The Time Interview (The following are excerpts7.)
Q: What role does faith play in your leadership?
A: First and foremost, we should be governed by common sense. But common sense should be based on moral principles first. And it is not possible today to have morality separated from religious values.
Q: You must feel lucky that the price of oil is so high?
A: Fools are lucky. We work day and night!
Q: The government has arrested some Russian industrialists8 and seized their assets. Why?
A: Well, “Thou shall not steal.” They didn’t have difficulties with me. They had difficulties with the people of the country and with the law.
Q: Has your KGB training helped you as President? There’s an old saying “Once a spy, always a spy.”
A: Well, those are lies. Naturally, some of that background can be of help. They taught me to think independently. They taught me to gather objective information, first and foremost. The second thing, from working in intelligence, is learning the skill of working with people. Above all, to respect the people you’re dealing with.
Q: Do you use e-mail? Do you blog?
A: Well, it’s a big shame. I don’t use these technologies. I don’t even use telephone. My staffs do it for me. But they do it wonderfully.
Kissinger on Putin
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is well acquainted with Vladimir Putin. Time’s Romesh Ratnesar met with Kissinger and they talked about Putin. Here are excerpts.
Q: You’ve met with him many times. What is he like in person?
A: He is extremely intelligent, very focused on the subject under discussion and very familiar with the issues in foreign policy. He does not try to sweep you away9 with personal charm. It is a combination of aloofness10, considerable intelligence, strategic grasp and Russian nationalism.
Q: How will historians assess Putin’s presidency11 and his significance?
A: The great Russian reformers, like Pete the Great and Catherine the Great, were very autocratic12 at home and yet progressive by contemporary13 Western standards. If you look at Putin in this context14, he thinks he is a reformer. He probably will be considered a seminal15 figure in his country’s history, but he is not a democrat16.
How will he be rated17? Too early to tell. Great? Well, we’ll have to see. A leader becomes great if he institutionalizes a system, if it doesn’t become totally dependent on one person. It remains to be seen whether Putin is able to do that.
由于力促稳定、重塑俄罗斯世界强国的地位，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京荣膺《时代》杂志“年度风云人物”。
《时代》杂志执行编辑理查德·斯坦格尔说，该杂志认可普京“在接管一个动乱国家并使之恢复稳定方面所表现出的卓越领导才能”。
在俄罗斯，姑娘们认为他是理想的男友。成千上万的日本青少年申请和他切磋柔道，哪怕只是短短的几分钟。他冷峻的形象出现在世界各国报刊杂志的头版头条。
普京并非命运的宠儿。1952年，他出生在列宁格勒，父亲是一家工厂的领班。但是他的家庭却与权力有着罕见的联系。其祖父一度与权力核心关系密切：他曾为俄国历史上最强悍的领导人之一约瑟夫·斯大林掌厨。
1970年，他进入国立列宁格勒大学法律系。早在他1975年毕业之前，克格勃就物色他为招募的目标。结识阿纳托里·索布查克这位戈尔巴乔夫时代第一波民主改革者的领导人后，他的事业征途发生了改变。
2000年接任俄罗斯总统时，他面对的是一个濒临衰败的国家。在其作为总统的八年任职期内，他领导自己的国家进行了一场引人注目的改革。他恢复了稳定局面，重新唤起了民众的自豪感。过去五年俄罗斯的经济年均增长百分之七。在他强有力的领导下，俄罗斯又重返世界强国之列。
自儿时起普京就酷爱柔道和间谍小说，他的休闲方式是听古典作曲家，如勃拉姆斯、莫扎特和柴可夫斯基等的音乐。他最喜爱的甲壳虫歌曲是“昨天”。
他与柳德米拉·亚历山德罗维娜·普京娜结婚，生有两个女儿：叶卡特林娜和玛丽亚。
《时代》杂志访谈（以下是摘录）
问：在您的执政艺术中信仰起何作用？
答：最重要的是，我们应该听从常识的指引，但是常识应首先基于道德原则，而在当今要把道德与宗教价值观分离是不可能的。
问：您一定对油价飞涨感到庆幸吧？
答：傻瓜才感到庆幸。我们只相信日夜工作！
问：政府逮捕了一些俄国实业家，还查封了他们的资产。为什么？
答：这么说吧，“你不可偷窃。”他们并非与我过不去。他们是与全体人民和法律过不去。
问：您在克格勃接受的训练对您任职总统有帮助吗？俗话说：“一朝为间谍，终身为间谍。”
答：喔，这是谎言。当然，有些经历还是有用的。它们教我独立思考，教我收集客观的信息，这是最重要的；其次，我从情报工作中学会了与人合作的技巧。最重要的是尊重与你打交道的人。
问：您使用电子邮件吗？写博客吗？
答：哦，很遗憾，我不使用这些技术，我甚至都不用电话。我的工作人员为我代劳，不过他们做得非常出色。
基辛格谈普京
美国前国务卿亨利·基辛格与弗拉基米尔·普京非常熟悉。《时代》杂志的罗梅斯·拉特奈萨采访了基辛格，并谈到了普京。以下是一些他们谈话的节选。
问：您见过他多次。他是一个什么样的人？
答：他绝顶聪明，对所讨论的话题表现得非常专注，对外交政策中的问题了如指掌。他并不试图用个人魅力来征服你。在他身上集中体现了超然事外、大智大慧、高屋建瓴和俄罗斯民族主义等特质。
问：历史学家将会如何评价普京的总统任期和他的重要性呢？
答：俄国伟大的改革家，如彼得大帝和凯瑟琳女皇，他们在国内都是非常专制的，然而按照同时代的西方标准来看却是进步的。如果在这种情形下看普京，他认为自己是一个改革家。他很可能被视为在其国家历史上一个具有开创意义的人物，但他不是一个民主主义者。
他将被如何评价？为时过早。伟大？我们还需拭目以待。一个领导人如能建立一个体制，且该体制不完全依赖某一个人，他便是伟大的。普京能否做到这一点，仍然有待观察。
1. feat n. 功绩
2. chaos n. 混乱，无秩序
3. judo n. 柔道
4. destiny n. 命运
5. foreman n. 工头，领班
6. recruitment n. 招募，招聘
7. excerpt n. 摘录，节录
8. industrialist n. 工业家，实业家
9. sweep away 强烈地影响
10. aloofness n. 冷淡，冷漠
11. presidency n. 总统的任期
12. autocratic adj. 独裁的，专制的
13. contemporary adj. 同时代的
14. context n. 环境，背景
15. seminal adj. 有开创性的，有影响的
16. democrat n. 民主主义者
17. rate [reit] v. 评定(某人的价值)