Putin Ranking as World’s Most Influential Person ‘Obvious’ – Peskov

It's an obvious fact that the president Putin is one of the world's most popular, famous and respected politicians, according to a Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin's place at the top of several high-profile Western polls ranking the world's most influential people is self-explanatory, a Kremlin spokesman said Tuesday.

On Monday, Putin was ranked first in a Time magazine reader ballot to choose persons who "have changed the world this past year, for better or worse." In 2013 and 2014, Putin was named the world's most powerful person by the Forbes magazine.

"It's an obvious fact that the president [Putin] is one of the world's most popular, famous and – among other things – respected politicians. And several printed media have acknowledged this leadership, which is a fact too," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Putin topped the Time's list with 6.65 percent of votes, followed by South Korean pop singer Lee Chae-rin and US performer Lady Gaga. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, Catholic Pope Francis and Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai all made it into Top 10.

Last year, Putin finished third in the Time rating. In 2007, the magazine named him Person of the Year for performing 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."