The Economic News Agency compiled a political influence rating for the Russian entrepreneurs and investors valid for the first quarter of 2010. The agency was asked to create this rating by Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

The ranking method for creating a list of Russia’s Top 50 Most Influential Entrepreneurs & Investors has remained the same as before. Thirty-seven experts looked into the degree of 104 candidates’ political influence using a scale of 0 to 5, with 0-1 signifying minimal influence, 1-2 standing for weak influence, 2-3 standing for average influence, 3-4 standing for strong influence, and 4-5 signifying very strong influence. Such was the way in which the country’s most influential businesspeople were identified.

Chairman of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Viktor Rashnikov was rated 26th on the list within the ‘strong influence’ range, which means he has been able to retain the position he had in the previous quarter. This is actually one of the best rankings among the Russian ferrous metallurgical industry’s representatives, MMK PR Department reports.