Revealing the character admired by Russians only after President Putin

President Vladimir Putin is the most trusted politician among Russians, but few people know who is the most admired figure after Putin. And a survey shows that person is Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu.

Russian President Putin (left) and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu (Photo: Documentary)

According to a year-end survey conducted by WCIOM, President Vladimir Putin tops the list of most trusted politicians with the support of 62% of Russians surveyed.

The second place on this list is a tight race between well-known names. However, the survey results show that Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu has surpassed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to become the most admired Russian official after President Putin. Mr. Lavrov is only 0.2% behind the runner-up.

Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev only received 12.6% support and ranked 4th on the list of most trusted politicians in Russia.

2016 was a difficult year for Prime Minister Medvedev as he was responsible for negotiating with ministers on a series of budget adjustments to cope with Russia's financial downturn.

According to Dan Tri