Skating Or Sliding? Looking Back On World Leaders in 2013

Hover over the rings to see why the competitors are up or down.
2013 saw more upheaval in the Middle East, an assertive Russia on the world stage, a new Pope in the Vatican, and a trove of revelations about a U.S. spying agency. Against that backdrop, some world leaders excelled and others struggled to find their footing. RFE/RL uses a possible scene from the approaching Olympic Games in Sochi (see Putin) -- which carry with them their own controversies -- to show who had a champion year, and who ended 2013 slipping and sliding.

Cartoon by Katerina Martinovich, text by Glenn Kates