TIME's 100 most influential people of 2022 include Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy

TIME magazine published their list of the 100 most influential individuals in 2022. Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are on the list. The pair was chosen in the "Leaders" category. Apart from Zelenskyy, Ukraine Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi was also named in the "Leaders" category, while Chief Editor Sevgil Musaieva of Ukrainian media Ukrainska Pravda was named among the "Innovators."

The Editor-in-Chief of TIME stated, "When our team gathers to choose the TIME100, we have one metric in mind: influence. Who helped to influence the year? Who got up? Who stood out the most? Of course, influence may be used for good or evil, as seen by the inclusion of both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky in this year's TIME100."

"They are the list's and the moment's poles. The Russian tyrant at the helm of a horrific war, and his adversary, the Ukrainian President, whose leadership has elevated him to the status of a rare heroic figure in our dividing age," Edward Felsenthal, Editor-in-Chief of TIME.

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Interestingly, US President Joe Biden wrote Zelenskyy's piece. Biden said in the letter that the Ukrainian people have a leader worthy of their bravery and perseverance, as folks across the nation - merchants and soldiers, tailors and truck drivers - battle for their homes and their freedom.

"The countries of the free world are more unified, resolute, and purposeful than at any moment in recent memory," he said, citing President Zelensky's example.

President Putin's op-ed was penned by Alexei Navalny, an imprisoned Russian opposition leader who is presently serving a nine-year sentence in a maximum-security penitentiary camp. In his column, Navalny discusses the duck test, which states that "if something looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's certainly a duck."

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The yearly list of notable individuals includes the year's most influential pioneers, artists, titans, leaders, and symbols from throughout the world.

• Edward Felsenthal
• TIME
• Vladimir Putin
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• influential people
• Joe Biden