MOSCOW, February 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin was named as world politician number one by media people of global news media community. These are results of World Rating 2013 survey, which was conducted among 175 news agencies and news media outlets, Itar-Tass reported on Wednesday.

The Russian president gained 133 from 175 votes, Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were also named at several first positions in the rating. U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and first black South African President Nelson Mandela who died last December also polled many votes among 53 candidates.

Media people of world news media community named Vladimir Putin as politician number one for successful governance of the country and preparation to the Winter Olympics in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, President of the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies and Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Maxim Minchev told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

“In my view and view of my colleagues, the Russian president was named politician number one thanks to several reasons and events. The fact that he rules such country as Russia and rules it successfully distinguishes him as a good politician. Naturally, such a large-scale event as the Winter Olympics this year had an influence on the choice of media community,” Minchev.

In the future during a next survey in 2014 broader and more concrete criteria to evaluate political, cultural personalities and scientists should be found, the BTA general director said. “We have already done the first step in this direction and, to my mind, it was quite successful. Speaking the language of upcoming Winter Olympics, we tried the track,” he said.

Russian government-run news agency ITAR-TASS has initiated the world survey among news agencies and news media outlets. This survey became the first poll of this kind among media people of professional news media community. Members of all international regional unions of news agencies, including the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA) and the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies (BSANNA) were offered to participate in the survey.

Survey results were presented to the International Council of Experts, which includes OANA President and ITAR-TASS Director General Sergey Mikhailov, OANA Vice-President and Director of Azerbaijan’s news agency AzerTAc Aslan Aslanov, Secretary General of the World Council of News Agencies Uffe Sorensen (Denmark), EANA Secretary General Erik Nylen (Sweden), FANA Secretary General Farid Ayar (Jordan), BSANNA Vice-President Maxim Minchev and First Deputy Director General of the Vietnamese News Agency Le Duy Truyen.

The International Council of Experts and ITAR-TASS will award winners of the survey with memorial signs.