The Times names Vladimir Putin 'Person of the Year'

An influential British newspaper, The Times, has named Russian President Vladimir Putin its “Person of the Year”. The newspaper says that 2013 has become the year of great accomplishments for the Russian leader. The newspaper’s editors hail him for Russia’s stance on Syria, the country’s policy in relation to Ukraine, and Putin’s relationship with the opposition at home.

Earlier, Putin was reported to have become Russia’s politician of the year with 44 percent of Russians expressing their support to him. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (8 percent) and Foreign Minister (7 percent) finished second and third respectively, Valery Fyodorov, the chief of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, announced.

Vladimir Putin tops the rating for the tenth year in a row.

At the end of October, he also was ranked first in the Forbes 2013 list of the world’s most powerful people. Barack Obama, who topped the rating last year, came second this time. The Russian leader happened to be in the Forbes top three of the world’s most powerful people in 2011 and 2012.

Apart from Putin, the Forbes 2013 ranking also included Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (61st place), businessman Alisher Usmanov (67th place), and Gazprom head Alexei Miller, who closes the rating.

According a the Levada Center poll, 52 percent of Russians “have a favorable impression” of Putin, one percent down from 2012. 47 percent support his policy (48 percent in 2012) and 31 percent are against him (with 29 percent last year). In general, Vladimir Putin’s rating is persistently high and insignificant volatility of polls doesn’t make much difference, political scientists believe.

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_12_30/The-Times-names-Vladimir-Putin-Person-of-the-Year-9831/