Time Magazine has selected Russian President Vladimir Putin as its person of the year.

Putin is going to be a controversial choice but, on reflection, I think they may well have gone for the right man. Love him or hate him, he’s had a massive impact on the world, and perhaps done more to shape the democracy debate (albiet negatively) than any man this year.

Lets be clear – Putin doesn’t stand for democracy. Instead, he stands for stability. If he can achieve stability through democractic means, then so much the better. But if Putin thinks that democracy stands in the way of Russia’s stability, then he would crush it in the blink of an eye.

By dragging Russia kicking and screaming from the post-Soviet anarchy of the Yeltsin era, Putin has single handedly made ‘managed democracy’ a semi-respectable form of government. His success will encourage others to believe that, provided they secure stability and steady economic development for their people, they can rule indefinitely.

Whether this is a positive, or a negative development, I’ll leave you to decide. After all, you were last year’s Time Magazine Person of the Year…