This time, they've gone with the practically obvious choice in Vladimir Putin. Putin's doing his best impression of Vladimir Lenin in trying to restore the totalitarian regime that Lenin set in motion.
As for this being his most successful year yet, if you count setting events in motion that will enable Putin to pull strings of Russian politics for years to come by all but annointing his successor and putting himself in a position to govern as Prime Minister, then I'd call that quite successful.
If you think that trying to reduce global conflicts and enhancing Russian security are goals, then he was less than successful. He cut deals with Iran so that when Iran strikes at the West, Russia is hoping to be hit last. It's a devil's deal, and one that will harm Western interests - Russia's included - for a long time to come.
Putin is hoping to resurrect the Russian sphere of influence along its borders, and while it has been successful in the -stans, Eastern Europe wants to hear none of it as they've moved closer to the United States.
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