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Simon Saradzhyan
When recently asked by the Levada Center to name “the most outstanding individuals of all time and peoples,” the top three named by Russian respondents were Josef Stalin (42%), Vladimir Putin (31%) and Vladimir Lenin (28%). In fact, of the top 10, only three are not military-political leaders: poet Alexander Pushkin (4th), cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (6th) and chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (10th), according to the results of Levada’s poll, which was conducted in April and published in June Levada is yet to take its analytical take on the dominance of authoritarian leaders in the Top 10. Meanwhile, one can guess that it might have something to do for a strong preference for a strong state led by a strong leader among many Russians, which should not be surprising, given the long history of authoritarian rule in Russia.
It should be noted that of the top 10, figures, as many as five came to prominence in Soviet times: Stalin, Lenin, Gagarin, Georgy Zhukov and Leonid Brezhnev, while four lived in pre-Soviet Russia: Pushkin, Mendeleev, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. Opposition-minded Russians may find Vladimir Putin not so great, especially when compared to Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, but he is the only person in Levada’s April 2025 top 10 to have come to prominence in post-Soviet times.
Table 1: Name the most outstanding individuals of all time and peoples (Levada Center, poll conducted in April 2025, results released in June 2025.)
| Name | Era | Occupation | % of Respondents |
|
Soviet | State leader | 42% |
|
Post-Soviet | State leader | 31% |
|
Soviet | State leader | 28% |
|
Tsarist | Poet/writer | 24% |
|
Tsarist | State leader | 19% |
|
Soviet | Cosmonaut | 15% |
|
Soviet | Military commander | 13% |
|
Tsarist | State leader | 9% |
|
Soviet | State leader | 8% |
|
Tsarist | Scientist | 8% |
|
Doesn’t apply | Scientist | 8% |
|
Tsarist | Scientist | 8% |
|
Tsarist | Poet/writer | 8% |
|
Tsarist | Military commander | 8% |
|
Post-Soviet | Politician | 7% |
|
Soviet | Scientist | 6% |
|
Tsarist | Writer | 5% |
|
Doesn’t apply | Scientist | 5% |
|
Tsarist | Military commander | 5% |
|
Tsarist | State leader | 4% |
Given the dominance of Soviet-era personalities in that top 10, one could posit that nostalgia for Soviet rule remains strong in Russia more than 30 years after the dissolution of the USSR. That this is the case also follows from Levada’s earlier polls (e.g. three out of four respondents of a 2020 Levada poll said the Soviet era was the greatest time in their country’s history.1 While Lenin’s popularity declined from 59% in the final year of the USSR’s existence (1991) to 28% in 2025, the same period saw Stalin’s popularity increase from 24% to 42%, propelling the Soviet dictator to the top of the list.
As for Putin, he did not appear in this series of polls until 2008, when he was named most outstanding by 32% of respondents before declining to 22% in 2012 (anti-Putin protests surged after Putin announced in 2011 his intention to return to the Kremlin). His share fell to 18% in 2020, then 15% in 2021, before rebounding to 31% in 2025.
Table 2: Name the most outstanding individuals of all times and peoples—time series (Levada Center, poll conducted in April 2025, results released in June 2025.)
| Name | Nov 1989 | Dec 1991 | Aug 1994 | Mar 1999 | Jul 2008 | Oct 2012 | Apr 2017 | Oct 2020 | May 2021 | Apr 2025 |
| 1. Joseph Stalin | 12% | 24% | 20% | 35% | 36% | 42% | 38% | 35% | 39% | 42% |
|
– | – | – | – | 32% | 22% | 34% | 18% | 15% | 31% |
|
72% | 59% | 34% | 42% | 34% | 37% | 32% | 28% | 30% | 28% |
|
25% | 18% | 23% | 42% | 37% | 29% | 34% | 23% | 23% | 24% |
|
38% | 51% | 41% | 45% | 37% | 37% | 29% | 25% | 19% | 19% |
|
15% | 8% | 8% | 26% | 25% | 20% | 20% | 13% | 13% | 15% |
|
19% | 16% | 14% | 20% | 23% | 15% | 12% | 8% | 12% | 13% |
|
– | 7% | 10% | 10% | 8% | 11% | 11% | 9% | 6% | 9% |
|
– | 6% | 6% | 8% | 9% | 12% | 8% | 4% | 10% | 8% |
|
13% | 5% | 6% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 8% | 8% | 8% |
|
9% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 7% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 8% |
|
20% | 14% | 13% | 18% | 17% | 15% | 10% | 6% | 8% | 8% |
|
5% | 3% | 5% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 11% | 7% | 6% | 8% |
|
17% | 15% | 18% | 18% | 16% | 12% | 10% | 5% | 7% | 8% |
|
– | – | 1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 2% | 2% | 7% |
|
9% | 8% | 4% | 9% | 10% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 5% | 6% |
|
13% | 7% | 8% | 12% | 14% | 11% | 12% | 6% | 7% | 5% |
|
6% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 6% | 6% | 7% | 5% | 4% | 5% |
|
10% | 14% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 7% | 6% | 5% | 5% |
|
– | 4% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 5% | 4% | 4 % |
It is also remarkable that the top 10 includes no foreigners at all, reflecting Russians’ preference for compatriots in what was supposed to be a global contest for their preferences, with Albert Einstein ranked 11th with 8% and Isaac Newton ranked 18th with 5%.
While I could not find any recent polling of other countries’ residents on whom they considered to be “the most outstanding individuals of all time and peoples,” I did find YouGov polls of Americans and Britons on whom they viewed as most popular. In contrast to Russians, Americans and Britons appear to be less likely to identify state leaders as most popular historical figures. A YouGov 2025 poll of Americans on “the most popular historical figures” revealed that there were only two country leaders in the Top 5. Albert Einstein held the top spot, with 81% of respondents finding him to be the most popular. Abraham Lincoln followed closely in second place, enjoying a 78% popularity rating. In third place was Anne Frank, whose story of hiding from the Nazis during World War II continues to resonate worldwide, earning her a 77% popularity rating. Sharing that same 77% popularity score was John F. Kennedy. Finally, Rosa Parks, celebrated for her pivotal role in the civil rights movement, rounded out the top five with a 76% popularity rating. In addition to polling Americans on most popular historical figures, YouGov also polled Britons on “the most popular all-time people “in 2025. Again, as it was the case with Americans, Albert Einstein secured the top spot with 85% popularity rating. Tied closely behind him were scientist David Attenborough (84%), film director Steven Spielberg (84%) as well as comedians Rowan Atkinson (84%), and Robin Williams (84%).
Footnotes
Simon Saradzhyan is the founding director of Russia Matters. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author. Photo credit: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File.
Saradzhyan, Simon. “Soviet Figures Still Dominate Russians’ Most Outstanding Global Figures List.” Russia Matters, June 27, 2025
The full text of this publication is available via Russia Matters.
