The emperor is definitely not naked, he’s wearing the white judo uniform and finally he …hinted at the next strike we all suspected! Gently …very judo style! For the ones who might not know this, Judo in Japanese means “the gentle way” and by the way, the emperor is the usual suspect, Vladimir Putin! The last Czar!

Vladimir was wearing one of his usual ice-cold smiles when said that he’s thinking of it. He said he will make an agreement with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev now so it won’t be any kind of …disagreement or competition. After all, he has the right to be a candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Amazingly he added that what happened in 2007 was a good example of the good relationship between them, pointing out that there was no competition between them in the 2007 elections, so why would there be now.

Vladimir Putin was, is, and I’m afraid will be for long time, a mystery. He is a mixture of… a little of the old communist era with secrecy mania and arrogance; a little orthodox Christian fanatism that reaches Rasputin; and a lot of ambition and too many secrets. This makes the man a wonder for international politics. Clever definitely, and cunning as well. The man worked for the almighty KGB, the intelligence bureau of the Soviet Union. What he was doing there? Another mystery! Perhaps he was just an ordinary bureaucrat who thanks to his membership in the party climbed the hierarchy. Perhaps, but watching him you know that things were definitely a bit different and he was not just an ordinary clerk.

The Russians love him, that’s for sure. Balancing between their nationalism and USSR’s internationalism and world domination, he has given the Russian people back their dignity. He gave them back what Yeltsin has destroyed with a little help from his mafia friends. He returned Russia – after two decades of nothingness and a joke – to a player on the international scene. Saying that Russia had become a joke, I was serious, because all we remember from Yeltsin’s period is when he was drunk with Bill Clinton next to him, trying to conduct the army band in front the White House. That’s a really sad legacy for any leader, but true when it comes to Yeltsin. So Vladimir gave the Russian people back their dignity and international recognition! Even fear!

Veiled from the events of the last century, we often forget that Russia is a country with a glorious past. It was a mighty strong and feared empire that dominated that side of the globe for centuries. And history is part of the people. Even the USSR period had some moments of pride for the Russian people. They were the dominating half of a continent and expanding further. Suddenly, from one day to another, it all collapsed like a sand castle. The reason Russians for example hate Mikhail Gorbachev, is because they see him as the nemesis of the old empire, despite the fact that he was the saviour of a dying coalition under the pressure of international change. Actually in my opinion Russian people have been very unfair to him and I really hope history will give him the credit he deserves.

And then Putin arrived! Putin of the Judo and Putin of the camouflaged uniform, Putin of the extreme sports and Putin of the strong will. Putin with the iron fist and Putin for the people! Putin who increased the salaries and just like an Old Russian Emperor warned the west that his time is coming. He has warned the west with just too many ways and often. And when he had to withdraw from the presidency in 2007 for legal reasons, we all knew that he would be back! And he will!

The amazing thing with Emperor Vladimir Putin is that he’s wearing clothes, but in his case we cannot see them and we cannot understand what kind of clothes he is wearing – casual denim, a military uniform, the politician’s suit or iron armour?