finally here are my thoughts on who we have called the most powerful man in the world. first, let me, plain the title. the united states and china are more powerful countries than russia, of course, but the power of the head of state is determined both by the country's strength and the capacity he or she has to exercise that power unilaterally, unconstrained by other institutions, parties or political forces. and combining the two metrics, it's easy to see why vladimir putin rises to the top. he has created what he calls a vertical of power unlike any we have seen in other great nations. as the russians grand master noted, himself a harsh critic of putin, the entire structure of russian political authority rests on one man. when the czar died after all, you knew the process by which his successor, his son, would be elevated.