Given the recent developments and the unprovoked attack by Russia on the sovereign country of Ukraine, Health Fitness Revolution has decided to remove Russian President Vladimir Putin from our annual “Fittest Heads of States” list in 2022. By air, land, and sea, Russia has launched a devastating attack on Ukraine, a European democracy of 44 million people. Its forces are bombing city centers and closing in on the capital, Kyiv, prompting a mass exodus of refugees, to date, over 1 million people have fled Ukraine.
Since the unprovoked attacks began a week ago, the West has rallied together against the horrors that Putin has been unleashing on Ukraine, many of his actions considered war crimes. As an American organization, with values that promote democracy and freedom, we cannot stand by and promote a leader who so blatantly values his own power over democracy and human life.
It is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant. Putin’s shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear plant takes his reign of terror one step further. #TheHague #Zaporizhzhia #StandwithUkraine
— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) March 4, 2022
Led by fitness expert, 4 x #1 Fitness Trainer in America, and HarperCollins author of the book ReSYNC Your Life Samir Becic, Health Fitness Revolution (HFR) was the first organization to recognize heads of state across the world in this regard, and today, over 10,000 media outlets across the world have published the lists, making it one of the most anticipated lists in the world. Putin has been ranked among our lists of “Fittest Heads of State” since its inauguration in 2014. He’s also been on our updated “Top 10” annually including 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. We can assume that Putin was proud to be included on our lists, as they were frequently republished on the state-run Russian media.
On Putin’s removal from our list, HFR founder Samir explains his decision “Every year my magazine Health Fitness Revolution publishes the list of the Fittest Heads of State. This year we are removing Russian President Vladimir Putin from the list. One of the great qualities of fitness is the power to connect people around the globe beyond ethnic distinctions, religion, national borders, economic strength, and genders. Fitness is about healthy living, not war, destruction, and tragic loss of innocent lives.”
And we are not alone, companies and organizations globally are cutting ties to Putin:
Taekwondo-Putin stripped of black belt over Ukraine invasion https://t.co/jzh72pbfTg pic.twitter.com/XkEQBb0HG0
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 1, 2022
Russian President Putin has temporarily lost his most senior official position in world sports after the International Judo Federation cited “the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine” for suspending Putin’s honorary president status. https://t.co/Z5ABYvM4Ww
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2022
VIDEO: Wax statue of Vladimir Putin removed from Paris museum.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 3, 2022
Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompts director of the Grevin Museum in Paris to remove the statue.
"We have never represented dictators like Hitler in the Grevin Museum, we don't want to represent Putin today" pic.twitter.com/vaN3kOPPzP
Here was his profile on our 2021 list:
