Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Yes, that Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president’s name is one of a record number put forward — with 278 candidates, including 47 organizations, in all, having been nominated, media outlets including Reuters and the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Nominations are kept secret by the committee for 50 years, but thousands around the world are eligible to propose candidates, and many make their picks public.

No doubt the turmoil in Ukraine will be considered by the Nobel committee when it comes time to make a decision, the New York Post reports.

Russian troops have seized effective control of Ukraine’s Crimea region, home to a Russian naval base on the Black Sea and a large population of ethnic Russians. Tensions have continued to escalate as the international community weighs how to respond.

Other candidates for this year’s prize include Pope Francis and former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden (who currently resides in Russia). Several Russian dissidents are believed to be among the potential recipients, as is Pakistani teenager and education advocate Malala Yousafzai, according to the New York Post.

Four U.S. presidents have been awarded the prestigious prize. Barack Obama won it in 2009, and Jimmy Carter was honored in 2002 — the first former U.S. president to receive the prize. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919, and Theodore Roosevelt received it in 1906.

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev won the prize in 1990 “for his leading role in the peace process which today characterizes important parts of the international community.”

–Joseph Adinolfi

Follow him @jsadinolfi.