Aside from his extraordinary leadership skills which led to his being named "Person of the Year" by Time Magazine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon be recognized internationally for his athletic prowess. In particular his judo moves as he and an Olympic Japanese judo medalist will come out with an instructional video soon.

Mr. Putin and Yasuhiro Yamashita shot the instructional video disc as a supplement to a judo manual. The disc is slated to be released on January or February, President Putin said Friday at the opening of a Toyota Motor Corporation's assembly plant near St. Petersburg.

The Russian president is a black belter. He studied judo while in college. Mr. Putin and Yamashita attended two years ago a judo session in St. Petersburg after he met the Japanese judo champion in Tokyo. From there, a friendship developed between the two judo artists leading to their co-authoring a judo manual.

President Putin's popularity with Russians is attributed to his physical fitness, a sharp contrast from former President Boris Yeltsin who was often ill and a hard drinker. President Yeltsin died on April. Outside of Russia, few knew of his fondness for the sport.

The Russian president was recognized last week by Time Magazine as 2007's most influential person. Time managing editor Richard Stengel explained its choice of Mr. Putin. He said, "He's the new czar of Russia and he's dangerous in the sense that he doesn't care about civil liberties, he doesn't care about free speech." In placing a premium on stability over freedom, be made Russia powerful again, Stengel said.