Russian President Vladimir Putin was once again named the country’s “Man of the Year,” making it his 15th consecutive win. That’s right, he’s been “Man of the Year,” every year, since rising to power in 1999. Imagine being the guy going up against Putin in the popularity contest. You thought Chris Pratt was robbed when People named Chris Hemsworth as their “Sexiest Man Alive.” Why bother.
According to the Interfax news agency, Putin won his title in a landslide, picking up 68 percent of the votes collected by a group known as the Public Opinion Foundation. It’d easy to say these results are rigged, but let’s indulge the governing body that currently runs Russia and assume that the Public Opinion Foundation actually did conduct a poll and regular Russian people did actually vote. Russia Today said the poll affirmed the people’s love for their president:
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 percent of Russians said they had no answer to this question.
Yes Putin, you’ve definitely set the bar high. Putting on what was perhaps the sh*tiest games in Olympic history, invading another country, becoming one of the world’s favorite bare-chested horseback riding internet memes, and watching your country’s main form of currency take a major nosedive. Those are all pretty impressive achievements worthy of the ‘man of the year.’
(Via Business Insider)