Vladimir Putin: Russia's 'greatest leader' in centuries? (The Week)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The Week - Yes. Putin is a transcendent figure in Russian history: Putin is Russia's "greatest leader" since Peter the Great and Catherine the Great in the 17th century, says Lawrence Solomon at The Financial Post. The czars gave Russia only "serfdom and privation," and the communists ruined the country with "decades of central planning." Putin, on the other hand, "has delivered stability and prosperity" — per-capita GDP has climbed six-fold on his watch. Plus, he restored "Russian pride" after the debacle of the 1990s, when Russia was a "demoralized nation that the West could push around at will." "Vladimir the Great"

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20120305/cm_theweek/225167

windows 8 logo anguilla gone with the wind michael jordan checkers imbibe msg network