The Top Five Most Influential Women of Russia

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According to a report released by Echo Moscow, the most influential woman of  Russia (2012) is, Valentina Matvienko. She is the first woman in history to hold the post of Chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Federation. A position earned by her in September 2012.

Matvienko is a former governor of St. Petersburg, and she is quoted as stating herself to have, “pulled St. Petersburg out from where it was stuck in the end of the 20th century.” She harbors close ties to Vladimir Putin and her policy decisions are considered largely influential.

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The second most influential women is Olga Golodets, who served as Deputy Moscow Mayor for Education and Healthcare from December 2010 to May 2012. Dr. Golodets (P.h.D.) currently serves as Appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Presidential Executive Order.
 

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For third place is Natalya Timakova, the first woman to serve as Presidential Press Secretary, in 2008. It is sourced that during an interview with Russian Vogue, Timakova stated,  "This is really interesting work. Of course, the main stimulus for me is not money but the ability to make decisions."
 

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Fourth: Elvira Nabiullina, who achieved a P.h.D. in Economics to serve as Russia's Minister of Economic Development and Trade from 2007 to 2012. Nabiullina is sourced as stating during the Global Economic Crisis, “Just because there is a crisis, we shouldn’t quit our plans – we must  simply find new ways of achieving them.”  In May of 2012 she was appointed as Presidential Aid to Vladimir Putin.

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And fifth; out of a total list of a hundred women, is Alla Pugacheva, noted as a singer, composer, director, and actress. Pugacheva is one of Russia's top Pop singers, beginning her career when Russia was the Soviet Union during the 1970s. Her first notable success was winning the  1975 Grand Prix of the Golden Orpheus song contest with the song Harlequin. She has had several other top chart hits and is a cultural icon of Russia.

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