Vladimir Putin tops Forbes' list in 2017 of Most Powerful, for the fifth year in a row.

Love him or hate him, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has been named by Forbes as the Most Powerful person in 2017, now for a completely unprecedented FIVE years in a row: https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/list/

U. S. President, Donald Trump, came in at number #2. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel appeared at number #3. China's President, Xi Jinping was ranked at number #4.

Putin, who has been the Russian leader, formally and informally, for nearly 17 years, has a Ph.D in Economics, among other degrees, brought Russia back to a position of great military power, easily dealt with Western 'sanctions' against him for annexing Crimea, almost single-handedly wiped out ISIS (ISIL) in Syria during the past two years, and, he holds an approval rating among his fellow Russian citizens (measured by the highly-respected, independent Levada Analytical Center) at 82%. Link: http://www.levada.ru/en/

 

we know where you stand with him.

 

?

If I misstated anything please tell me what it was.... Forbes named Putin as Most Powerful -- not me. I am nothing, but Forbes represents one of the most respected, influential 'think-tanks' in the world, and has been regarded so for many years....

The biggest surprise? Merkel. She is having a lot of trouble even forming a German government. Guess most every-day Germans aren't so enthusiastic about all those Muslims and Africans she imported during the past few years. But, Germany is, by far, the most powerful, wealthy, and influential country in Western Europe, so, she won a position of commensurate power with Forbes.

 

Putin luvs Bitcoin .

 

I googled up various kinds of links for "Putin" and "bitcoin". Seems that there was a lot of Putin/Russia reaction during October about Bitcoin, but most of it was guarded and full of caution. Here's a couple of samples:
https://www.coindesk.com/vladimir-putin-mandates-new-rules-cryptocurrencies-icos/
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/31...oin-regulation-ethereum-blockchain-technology
...and there's lots more, too.

Russians are 'control-freaks'... they always have been, even before Stalin. Putin will probably keep Bitcoin on a very 'short leash', and that does seem smart to me. The situation with the world's currencies is bad enough as it is, without any REAL substantive, tangible backing for any of them. So, it seems to me like that last thing we need is another 'currency' with nothing backing it, but, hey, I'm not very smart....

 

your constant praise of a man that imprisons and kills his political adversaries highlights a pathetic putin troll.

 

I disagree with the Forbes list but may be I use different measures

I agree with the Economist that Xi Jingping is the most powerful, especially with the paragraph down the bottom comparing to Putin who are seen as

Also their assessment that Xi Jingping's Belt and Road initiative is investing billions into other countries, promoting prosperity... this type of leadership typically displayed by the powerful leaders of America past.

https://www.economist.com/news/lead...ina-or-world-better-xi-jinping-has-more-clout

 

I would have thought Merkel would be #1.

She literally destroyed an entire 1st world nation and nobody rose up to remove her.

That's power.

 

Hate to hear this - Trump's going to be in Drama Queen mode for at least a week because he was #2.

 

How the hell'd he even make the top five? No one respects him. All other government officials are either using him as a pawn or trying to limit the damage he can do. Except Mike Pence. He's got his nose so far up Trump's ass the next time he comes up for air Trump's going to wonder how that immigrant got into the White House.

 

Not quite sure where that comes from but Germany is in no way "destroyed." I live there, I think I should know.

 

I´m German. I´m in the AfD and i´m not pro Merkel but how exactly is the richest nation under the sun destroyed?

<Rule 3>

 

It must have been big fun in Hannover yesterday when the ANTIFA thugs took to the streets to raise hell with the AfD (whom I admire greatly). If anyone is going to save Germany from continuing on down the road toward becoming a 'toilet' for the Middle East and Africa, and keep Germany from going bankrupt trying to support the rest of the EU, it will be you brave souls in the AfD.

I understand that in order to project your power you must 'cooperate' with Merkel and, ultimately, allow her to form a government, even though you probably wish she would just go away. She says she won't call for new elections, but what will she do if she continues to be unable to form a coalition...? Use her 'back-channel' resources to bring out more ANTIFA thugs to yell "Nazis" at you?!

Too bad you can't enter into a coalition with the only CDU politician I know of who has any real degree of elevated mentality and common sense -- Wolfgang Schäuble!

Oh, come on, robster... as I said in the OP, you can "love him or hate him". I reported the news -- and gave a few pertinent facts about the man. Are you irritated with me, 'the messenger', just because you don't like the 'news'...? Putin is definitely a "Russia First" kind of guy... so, what the hell would you expect of him? But it is true that if we could find a way to work with him, together we could rid civilization of things that are FAR worse than anything I see in the Russian Federation.

Xi Jinping is certainly more 'powerful' than Angela Merkel! And, interestingly enough, under Xi's expert leadership and guidance, China has made stunning inroads into Western Europe, increasing trade with such countries as Germany greatly.

I would have ranked Xi higher than Merkel, but my purpose in opening this thread was not to pontificate about who I think ought to be on such a list; rather, to report the results of Forbes annual "Most Powerful" list.

 

Some say Putin is the richest man on the Planet. Its Forbes.....not Time Magazine. <Rule 3>

 

Today, not yesterday. And the Antifa was sprayed away with water throwers. Merkel has no own opinion and thats the good thing. She can go left and far right. She does what holds her in power. Meanwhile she moved to the right. She even starts deportations to Syria now. The AfD said we will support evry good decission and will vote against bad decissions. What we already achieved is blocking a left government.

 

Prima! Keep old Angela "on a short leash" and you in the AfD may accomplish many good things for Germany, and, hopefully, eventually you may become the dominant party. It will be a long, hard road, but you have already had a difficult journey and done very well. Glückwünschen!

. "Why have you waited so long for someone to teach you how to govern?"

 

Thanks man. Well in Eastern Germany AfD already is the leading party. We have regional elections next year. In my state Thüringen AfD will most likely set the new Ministerpräsident. Similar to your governors. In Sachsen as well.

 

Putin's net worth is 200 billion dollars. He's not Russia first.. He's Putin first.

 

No matter what country in the world we inspect, we will find that the RICH and their WEALTHY friends own and control everything. This is not a phenomenon unique to Russia! Truly... how many countries are led by a leader who is a poor person...? Certainly not China, and not even Ukraine....

 

One must also consider how that wealth was acquired. Putin runs Russia like a criminal syndicate.

 

Poverty is crushing for the average Russian.

 

I am surprised to see Trump up there. Sure, any man, as feeble as he can be, becomes a major player on the world chess piece when he is President of the USA, but Trump, in terms of popular support (and this is like currency among leaders), is far from being a strong man. His opponents can call his bluff and count on the domestic scene to sap him of any strength.

Trudeau is, IMO, more of a strong man than Trump, since he faces nearly no opposition.

 

You’re welcome. Yes, I know what the Hippocratic Oath is, hence why I said you can go into any ER and get treated here. Service comes with cost, and it would be your obligation to pay the bills. Fact of life.

As a tourist, it’s your business to have money prior to visiting a country. If I visit Germany one day, I am not going to come without enough money to comfortably cover my lifestyle. I sure as hell won’t expect you, or your fellow German citizens to pay for me in any way.

 

medical treatment costs thousands of €. When we travel we have credit cards with us where we can get each at best 2000 €. So what you expect? That we travel with the amount of money we could by a car with?

When you visit Germany and get ill you will get help no matter if you pay or not.

 

As you would here. Nobody is denied care here. Actually, it’s illegal for a ER to turn you away.