Who’s the only world leader able to stand among the ranks of Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift? No, not Kim Jong Un, or his Twitter parody account. The answer is, as you probably guessed from the title, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the TIME 100 readers poll, the controversial Russian leader claimed the number one spot with approximately 6.95 percent of the votes. Joining him in the top five were mostly pop artists — Korean singer CL of the group 2NE1, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. Putin wasn’t the only non-entertainer in the top ten at least, as he was joined by Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and Malala Yousafzai.
Oddly, over 57 percent of the votes for Putin came from within the United States. English-language state-owned media channel RT noted that this demonstrated the leader’s ability to seize the top spot demonstrated his “rock star credentials” and “all the more incredible” given where the majority of the votes came from.
The implications are interesting, albeit not tremendously surprising. “Influence” is a somewhat morally neutral concept, so now matter how Russian state-owned media tries to spin it, it’s not a sign Americans are beholden to Putin. If anything, it’s probably the opposite.
According to a Pew Research poll from late February, Americans are increasingly in favor of sending arms to Ukraine and taking a more aggressive stance toward the country. A majority (53 percent) still oppose arms shipments to the country, but it’s a significant drop from one year prior (62 percent). A majority of Americans prefer sanctions (60 percent said they support upping economic sanctions), and they’re split on whether the U.S. should train Ukrainian troops (49 percent favor, 46 percent oppose).
The results aren’t all that surprising. The so-called Russian reset is recent history, and there’s still an ongoing debate as to whether crumbling relations are a sign of a new Cold War, a sign that conflict that spurred the Cold War was never truly resolved, or that the term “Cold War” is grossly inaccurate altogether. To some extent, that debate is reflective of public opinion: More Americans view Russia as a “serious problem” than as an “adversary.”
In short, is Putin’s TIME 100 sweep notable? Maybe. Surprising? Not in the least.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
