A Russian Hall of Fame can only begin one way: by launching it with none other than Yuri Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, at the age of 27, this humble young man stepped into the Vostok 1, was shot into space, and returned two hours later as a global icon.

Владимир Владимирович Путин is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) on October 7, 1952, президент (= president) since Boris Yeltsin stepped down with this speech on December 31, 1999. For the entire 21st century, Putin has been босс or the boss, even when Medvedev was officially in charge for a short time.