Vladimir Putin – Russian Politician

Right now Vladimir Putin is the President of the Russian Federation and has been in office since 2012. Although he has been in power for a longer period of time than any other leader in the world, we know surprisingly little about this man.

During his time in power, the economy has been stabilized but there doesn't seem to be an end to the recession anytime soon. Putin relies on anticorruption rhetoric, however, when the Panama Papers hit the stands it all just seemed like big talk. He even went so far as to choose a human-rights activist for the Central Election Commission.

Putin claims to have restored order to Russia, however, in Moscow Chechen Gangsters are still wreaking havoc. Not to mention the fact that he is involved with issues in the Ukraine and Syria right now, but the impact it is having isn't favorable.

Regardless, Putin was still named one of the 100 most influential people in the world according to TIME magazine. He does have power in Russia, as he started as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for many years, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before moving into politics.

The masculine name Vladimir was derived from the Slavic element vladeti that means “rule” combined with meru that means “famous” or “great”. On the other hand, the name can be combined with another element being associated with miru that means “world” and “peace”. The name has been given to many notable people in Russia, from the Grand Prince of Kiev to the founder of the Soviet state.