At number two, Forbes places Vladimir Putin, which strikes me as plain wrong.

And if Russia succeeds as a nation-state in the family of nations, it will owe much of that success to one man, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

For Vladimir, it is enough that their family restored a piece of Kargopol's history, and are keeping it alive.

In franker moments—whether in the private comments of officialdom or the public words of President Vladimir Putin—the Russians admit that their firepower is not really threatened.

Vladimir Putin's action man image is complemented by an athletic body, famously revealed on a fishing trip when he stripped off his shirt to show a fine pair of pecs.