Putin and Freedom

So Putin is Time magazine's man of the year.  That is a better choice than a mirror and saying "you" like they did a couple of years ago.  I watched the news hour yesterday while they spoke to a couple of smart sounding guys about why Putin was selected. 

Putin has never come across to me (through the US media) as being a very nice guy.  Quite the contrary, between the poisoning death in England of Alexander Litvinenko, and they way they handle their hostage crisises, to squashing political opposition, Putin seems like a brutal efficient character.  I would not want to cross him.

However, the reason he was chosen as man of the year is a legitimate one.  He has brough stability, prosperity, and power back to Russia.  He has sacrificed some freedoms in doing so, but this is not a country that has been traditionally accustomed to all the freedoms that we have here in the West. 

I would not like to live in a country where freedom is stifled in the name of prosperity, but that is easy to say living in a coutry that is extremely prosperous and free.  If people are going to be allowed to disagree and protest, and speak out, it helps if the country is stable and prosperous to prevent the people from turning violent. 

One of the things that has helped the United States become so successful has been the consistent following of free market economics no matter who has been president.  This predictability has allowed the people and companies to understand the system and work within it to become efficient.  When countries cannot follow a consistent economic policy and have major political shifts, development is very difficult to secure, and frustration can quickly turn to violence. 

Russias shift from the communist Soviet Union to a "free," "market economy," has been a difficult one, and the country is experiencing somewhat of a boom right now.  Yes some of this has to do with soaring oil prices, but much of it also has to do with the stabilised system that Putin has implemented.  I think that further stabilisation is necessary before levels of freedom reach the levels taken for granted in the West.