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Guess who's been named Russia's Man of the Year?
What was that about the Rouble?
YES, IT’S VLADIMIR PUTIN.
We presumed you guessed it.
The Russian President (who has held that title or the Prime Minister office since 1999) has now been given the accolade 15 times in a row.
The survey of 1,500 people in 43 regions put the hunting-loving leader in top spot with 68% of the vote.
According to Interfax, that figure has doubled since 2013. Other contenders included Prime Ministere Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov.
About 4% of respondents believed there was no man deserving of the title for 2014.
Russia Today reported on the poll, saying: “The public affirmation about Vladimir Putin’s major role in the life of the country looks even more decisive considering researchers within the same poll asked who among scientists and artists was worthy of the mantle. Some 75% of Russians said they had no answer to this question.”
Sports also stumped the Russian respondents in the Public Opinion Foundation Survey. About 65% of people had no answer, and those that did all chose figure and speed skaters, probably related to the success of the national team during Sochi 2014.
Evgeni Plushenko was given top billing, just in front of teenage sensation Julia Lipnitskaya and Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova.
Putin’s approval rating has reached a record high this year following the invasion of the Ukranian peninsula of Crime.
We’re not sure if the Rouble situation would actually have changed the result but we should note the poll was taken on 7 December.
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