Putin, Medvedev fall in Forbes’ list

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has slid one position in the Forbes’ most powerful people list and came third, after US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Dmitry Medvedev, who vacated the presidential office for his long-time mentor earlier this year, has also lost two positions and ended up 61st this year. Two other Russians in the magazine’s rating were mogul Alisher Usmanov, the country’s richest person, according to Forbes, and world’s 67th most influential, and Alexei Miller, CEO of the world’s biggest gas producer, who made his debut in the list on the 70th position. One in 100 million In 2012, Forbes added one extra position to its personalized rating of world powerhouses, since the population of the planet exceeded the mark of 7 billion in March. To choose one in 100 million, Forbes editors assessed them according to four criteria. The number of people over whom candidates had power and financial resources they control were taken into account as well as in which spheres they are powerful in and how often they use their power. “Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin (#3) scored points because he so frequently shows his strength — like when he jails protestors,” Forbes wrote. Journalists also added that any list of this kind was subjective. “We don’t pretend ours is definitive,” they wrote.