Don't like that much.

He is a living devil, very smart, and he's knows our every move, and he is just sitting back rubbing his hands, and looking at us.

In 21th century,he is maybe the last true leader.Don't care much about the money dictators or zionism.Just do what he thinks is the best for Russia.

Dobby the house elf!

A rat. He looks and acts like a Mafia consigliare. The Russians were better off with Brezhnev.

I won't go so far as Stalin or Beria, but Brezhnev, that far I'll go.

Putin is nothing but a de facto dictator. I sure hope that the opposition in Russia will be able to defeat the puppet he endorses for the 2008 presidential election (although it probably won't happen). Nevertheless, long live Garry Kasparov! The greatest chessmaster in history is now becoming the most vocal opponent of Putin. Kasparov for president in 2008!

First off, I'd change my last name!

History will, in due time, shine a far more negative and glaring light on Putin. . .and dubya can still see "into his soul" - not the first time our elected leaders turn a blind eye to corrupt leaders. ..

Osama, If Geogre Cant Catch ya, assuming hes trying to, VLADIMIR CAN! (We should have let The USSR Run Over Afghanistan in 1979 when they tried to, THAT WAY we would not have had --- HHHHHHHHEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOO.... THE GREAT DEBACLE OF ............... COULD IT HAVE BEEN........................................... SETPEMBER 11, 2001

Started off okay, but after basically getting his hand caught in the Oil for Food cookie jar, he reacted like a dictator and a tyrant. Hopefully they'll run him out on a rail, and soon.

I don't know how anyone with pro-western views can like this guy. He's rolling back privitization, free press, and the rule of law (e.g. selectively enforcing laws and creating new ones that apply retroactively, in order to go after political opponents). Also, he's turning Chechnya into the same type of breeding ground for terrorists that Afghanistan became during the Soviet occupation of the 70's and 80's (okay, the US had a small hand in that, too). And don't even get me started about his meddling in Ukraine's affairs (most notably, the recent elections).

The devil himself.................

This man is a manipulator and a would be tyrant.

Welcome back to Staling times! Putin is bringing Russia back to the state it was during the times of Stalin. He closed all television stations and newspapers that were in opposition to him. He blew up the three buildings in Moscow and killed 100's of his own people to justify the operation in Chechnya. (And you though Bush giving WMD as an excuse for invasion of Iraq was appaling). His want to be resolute in the Nord Ost incident left over 200 of Russians dead because they choked on their vomit. Putin wanted to takeover to be done as soon as possible to show resolute action and therefore did not prepare for saving people but for destroying terrorists. Over 100,000 Russian soldiers died in Chechnya due to his actions. I can go on and on. In short, he is the worst leader of Russia since Stalin.

Is Vladimir Putin really directing Russia toward democracy? He used to be head of the K.G.B. (the Communist secret police force). Not too long ago, the last non-government-owned television station was closed down. It does not seem like life has improved for many Russians since the Soviet days, as the government and the country are even poorer than they were before.

not a friend of the us he has said lots of things against the war plus i think he is more communist that yeltsin but im not sure

Mafia, Depression, Chechnyan Civil war... Oh yeah, great leader. Sounds alot like Bush, except that he didn't support the war on Iraq.

a joke a disgrace

later

Hmm... don't know that much about the man actually... all I really wanted to say was: GO RUSSIA! Viva La Rysland! Follow your dream! (a.k.a move to Russia asap)

Vladimir Putin certainly is trying to direct that huge megastate called Russia in the right direction. He is trying to privatize land ownership in Russia; most farms in Russia are co-op's similar to that of the old Soviet Unions'. The economy has seen some growth in Russia since Putin took over. I believe it was 8 percent growth in 2000 and rising. The United States could only benefit from a strong, democratic Russia. They are no longer our enemy; it is difficult to think that way because as we were all growing up, we were taught that Russia was the "Big Bad Wolf" of our time. That has obviously changed, there is so much potential in Russia and the Central Asian republics as well. There are huge oil deposits in areas of Russia, specifically in Siberia. This is a very depressed part of the country; it does not have to be because they have a wealth of natural resources. The only thing Russia needs is a catalyst for growth. The former communists want investment, they do not want to return to the stagnation of the Soviet era. This will not be accomplished by throwing "aid packages" at the Russians, this will be accomplished through investments in the resource markets of Russia. These investments must come from Europe, Japan, and the United States. There must be an injection of capital into the Russian economy in order for real growth to occur; this can only come from foreign investment. There is so much potential in Russia, I believe that President Putin sees that as he crafts his vision of a democracy for Russia. It will be a different varient than the Jeffersonian model we adopted in the United States or the Japanese model of democracy. That variant is a work in progress, but I believe Mr. Putin is well on his way. He wants Russia to become a productive member of the world community. The United States must continue to open up to Russia, the more open they are, the more stable they will be.

A fine democratic leader.