Putin admired more than Pope Francis – YouGov poll

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the third most admired person in the world after Microsoft founder Bill Gates and US President Barack Obama, reports the London-based Times newspaper, citing a telephone and online poll conducted by YouGov.

Pope Francis comes fourth on the list. Britain's Queen Elizabeth is 17th, followed TV celebrity Oprah Winfrey and movie star Angelina Jolie. YouGov polled about 14,000 people in 13 countries, including Russia. The Times newspaper reported that Putin's popularity among Russians helped him secure the third place on the list. The poll conducted in 13 countries around the world revealed that the Russian leader earned more admiration than Pope Francis, who came fourth. The world's richest man, Gates is the most admired person in China and more highly regarded than China's President Xi Jinping, Obama and Putin, who was named the fourth admired person by the Chinese citizens, according to the poll published Saturday. In Russia, Gates was chosen as the second most admired person, ahead of famous US actress Angelina Jolie and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who has been granted temporary asylum in Russia, was named the tenth most admired person by Russians. The YouGov poll surveyed nearly 14,000 people from the UK, France, Germany, Russia, the US, Australia, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, China, Egypt, Nigeria and Brazil.

Putin, 61, was named International Person of the Year by The Times in late December for succeeding in his ambition of bringing Moscow back to the international top table.

Earlier, the American Forbes magazine named Putin as the world's most powerful person displacing Obama to second position. Chinese President Xi Jinping came third on the Forbes' list of the world's top influential politicians. 'Person of the Year' is Putin - The Times

The Times, an influential British newspaper, has called Russia's President Vladimir Putin "The Person of the Year on the International Arena". Among his merits is the prevention of military interference in the Syrian conflict from the outside and the achievement of greater closeness with Kiev amid attempts at Ukraine–EU integration. Two months earlier Putin led the Top Influence Rating, released by Forbes magazine.

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_01_12/Putin-admired-more-than-Pope-Francis-YouGov-poll-7863/