Vladimir Putin Is The World's Most Powerful Person, According To Forbes

[Purveyor]

Russian President Vladimir Putin was once again chosen by Forbes as the world’s most-powerful person, successfully defending his title from last year. Putin shot Russia to the front of the world stage in early 2014 when he led Russia’s occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and clashed with Western leaders over allegedly supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

U.S. President Barack Obama came in at No. 2 behind Putin. General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping, Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel round out the top five. They were also the top names last year. It's the sixth iteration of Forbes’ “The World’s 72 Most Powerful People” list.

Putin may be No. 1, but Forbes wasn’t exactly glowing in its review of the Russian leader: “No one would call Vladimir Putin, a good guy,” Forbes’ Caroline Howard wrote. “In 2014, he strong-armed his way into possession of Crimea and waged an ugly proxy war in neighboring Ukraine, during which an almost certainly Russian-supplied surface-to-air missile downed a civilian jetliner. As the undisputed, unpredictable and unaccountable head of an energy-rich, nuclear-tipped state, no one would ever call him weak.”

Putin has faced off with Europe and the U.S. over the Ukrainian conflict, which has actually boosted his approval ratings among the Russian public. Western economic sanctions threaten to destabilize Putin's Russia, but with the FIFA World Cup coming to Russia in 2018 and claims of massive swaths of energy reserves, it doesn't look like Putin or Russia are going anywhere anytime fast.

“Several factors were taken into account to select the 72 people that matter from the 7.2 billion people on the planet: the amount of money they control; the number of people they impact; their total spheres of influence; and how actively they wield their power,” according to Forbes.

more...

http://www.ibtimes.com/vladimir-putin-worlds-most-powerful-person-according-forbes-1719387

[William769]

1. There was a typo.

Vladimir Putin Is The World's Most Insane Powerful Person.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Just one of many stories that helped the Rethugs

win yesterday. Plant the seed of doubt and watch it cover the facts.

[bigwillq]

3. They must have only polled DUers.

[treestar]

4. Meaningless

Why would anyone sit around trying to even decide that anyway? What jerkassedness.