Vladimir Putin Is The World’s Most Influential Person, According To The TIME 100 Poll
In a recent reader’s poll, President Vladimir Putin is considered the world’s most influential person. The TIME 100 survey placed the Russian leader at the top with him receiving 6.95% of the total votes. This puts him ahead of such popular acts as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and South Koran singer Lee Chae-rin (better known by her stage name, CL).
The news was also announced on TIME.com’s official Twitter feed as well as their website. Voting for 2015 was closed on April 10, 2015 and the results were tallied. A full list will be available on April 16.
Vladimir Putin wins TIME 100 reader’s poll http://t.co/FV03rTFZlR
— TIME.com (@TIME) April 13, 2015
According to The Independent, Putin also won out over such prestigious people as President Obama, Pope Francis, and even the Dalai Lama. This is also not the first time the Russian President has been noted for being an influential figure. In November 2014, Forbes magazine named Putin the world’s most powerful person for the second year in a row, beating out Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
However, Forbes defended the result stating that the votes only took into account individuals who, “wield the kind of power that shapes and bends the works, and moves people, markets, armies and minds.”
While Vladimir Putin missed out on topping the TIME 100 poll in 2014 (coming third instead), he did reach the number one spot back in 2007 for demonstrating an, “extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and bringing Russia back to the table of world power,” according to sources.
This may come as a surprise to readers, especially considering that Putin has recently been in the news for reportedly threatening nuclear war in order to force NATO forces out of bordering countries. However, according to reports, more than half of the votes (around 57 percent) came from within the US, while Canada and the UK followed with 5.54 percent and 4.55 percent respectively.
The TIME 100 poll is an annual survey which aims to discover who the world’s most influential people are, according to reader’s votes. Topics span individuals from a range of categories, including politics, business, entertainment, science, religion and other areas.
Despite controversies, Putin continues to top polls in his nation of Russia, with voters naming him Person of the Year for the 16th consecutive year back in 2014. This latest TIME 100 polls seems to suggest that Vadimir Putin is a much more influential and popular individual than some people may believe.
[Image source: Twitter]
