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Who Are Russia's 100 Most Influential Women?

Valentina Matviyenko

In honor of International Women's Day on Sunday, radio station Ekho Moskvy published a ranking of the country's most influential women.

The list boasts 100 slots, and was compiled by a panel of more than 60 experts, who evaluated the list of the country's top women according to a 20-point scale.

Ironically, no women were listed among the experts that helped compile the list of the country's leading females. However, the list of experts released by Ekho Moskvy was not exhaustive, so it is possible women were involved in helping to generate the list.

Speaker of the Federation Council — Russia's upper house of parliament — Valentina Matviyenko came out on top, followed by Central Bank chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina and Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets.

But the list wasn't limited to government officials.

Athletes, entrepreneurs, journalists, actresses, celebrities, writers and philanthropists also ranked among the country's most influential ladies.

New to the registry this year were Yulia Navalnaya, wife of beleaguered opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Crimean Prosecutor General Natalya Poklonskaya. The two occupy the 67th and 86th spots, respectively.

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