Bloomberg on Putin: How Putin Became the Symbol of Russian Power

[Ulmita]

I've been saying this for many years now: Putin is one of the best politicians / strategists / leaders to currently walk the face of this earth.
There is no comparison to him anywhere (maybe Merkel comes close) and especially in the USA. Obama wasn't a match for him, Trump is definatelly not, Hillary definately not, Sanders lol. All in all USA doesn't have a politician in his magnitude and it didn't matter who won the elections. Noone was capable of facing him.

I completely agree with Bloomberg's view but i'll take it a notch further. He is a symbol of power period.

[Deleted]

More a symbol of tyranny, corruption, hybrid war, propaganda, killing civilists and being a coward for not being able to take criticism like a man. Currently, russia is being ruled by a weak politician who removed all traces of people who could oppose him.

He is a criminal, nothing more, nothing less.

And it is really disgusting to have to see such a lousy propganda try on these forums.

Russia, a country made out of intellgient people with a thousand year old culture should not follow such an incompetent rabble rowser, who just takes his people as cannon fodder for his wars and favors war over cooperation.

The russians should rise against Putin and his criminal government to free the country from the corrupt tyrant.

[Ulmita]

More a symbol of tyranny, corruption, hybrid war, propaganda, killing civilists and being a coward for not being able to take criticism like a man. Currently, russia is being ruled by a weak politician who removed all traces of people who could oppose him.

He is a criminal, nothing more, nothing less.

Your claims are product of US / UK propaganda.

[Deleted]

Your claims are product of US / UK propaganda.

No, they are a product of observation and seeing consequences. And discussions with former russians who moved to germany to live in freedom.

[Ulmita]

No, they are a product of observation and seeing consequences. And discussions with former russians who moved to germany to live in freedom.

I have plently of discussions with Russians that moved to Canada that say the opposite. Also, the 80%+ of Putins approval says otherwise. Please dude, try to get a bit less brain washed.

[Tradu]

I have plently of discussions with Russians that moved to Canada that say the opposite. Also, the 80%+ of Putins approval says otherwise. Please dude, try to get a bit less brain washed.

Don't Russian leaders always have very high approval ratings while in power, and then when they're no longer in power their approval/popularity drops like a rock?

[Ulmita]

Don't Russian leaders always have very high approval ratings while in power, and then when they're no longer in power their approval/popularity drops like a rock?

hahaha u make me smile =)

[Deleted]

I have plently of discussions with Russians that moved to Canada that say the opposite. Also, the 80%+ of Putins approval says otherwise. Please dude, try to get a bit less brain washed.

Well, in east germany, in the year 1985, Erich Honecker got 82% in the vote.

4 years later he was dethroned. Putin has the same "approval" rate, but still he never really asks the people as he does not allow opposition.

How do you think anyone could know how many people like Putin if noone ever asks the people? We talk about a dictatorship here, where opposition politicians get killed. As like Boris Nemzow.

[Stormspark]

Putin is pretty much an evil dictator, but he's a smart evil dictator. He is not stupid at all. He's been playing Trump like a fiddle and then laughing about it.

[Tradu]

hahaha u make me smile =)

Not saying it's necessarily because they rig the numbers/suppress opposition(although I'm sure that happens too), but just that it's a cultural thing with how Russians view leaders.

[Noradin]

hahaha u make me smile =)

Because you know it is true?

[Deleted]

My pet theory is that Stalin's purges were so effective that the remaining Russian population is now drawn to strong man leaders due to selective pressure.

My theory is that most of the russian population just is not being asked what they want. As a dictator never asks his people what to do.

[Tradu]

My pet theory is that Stalin's purges were so effective that the remaining Russian population is now drawn to strong man leaders due to selective pressure.

According to some Russia expert who spent ages at the Danish embassy in Moscow or something and did a talk at my school, the latter part is definitely a thing in Russian culture(pretty sure she didn't blame Stalin's purges for it, though)

[Noradin]

My pet theory is that Stalin's purges were so effective that the remaining Russian population is now drawn to strong man leaders due to selective pressure.

Maybe that is why they are so scared of homosexuals?
Trying to convince themselfes they cannot be homosexual despite being enthralled by the thought of stronk leader Putin dominating them and their country?

[Ulmita]

My pet theory is that Stalin's purges were so effective that the remaining Russian population is now drawn to strong man leaders due to selective pressure.

Lets mention Hilter since we are talking some random shi.t =)

[Independent voter]

1. Soviet Union Falls

2. Putin, a low level KGB officer is out of work

3. He gets a job as an assistant for the Mayor of St Petersburg

4. The mayor is corrupt as hell, even selling food on the black market that was meant for the poor

5. The mayor is arrested and goes to trial

6. Putin refuses to testify against him

7. Yeltsin and the other corrupt Russian leadership see that Putin refused to testify and they said "THAT'S OUR MAN" because they were all afraid of prison if an honest man came into power.

8. And then they killed the fledgling Russian democracy.

[Macaquerie]

It's kind of sad that, despite all of the scientific and cultural achievements of Russians, all they seem to care about is strength and power despite the fact that, going by all the evidence, they are objectively terrible at fighting. Their entire military history consists of them getting smacked around by enemy nations a fraction of their size, and only just surviving due to some combination of weather and superior manpower, and curiously enough both of these advantages are soon disappearing given global warming and population decline.

[Dextroden]

Well, it's pretty easy to look powerful when multiple countries that were openly mocking yours for being a joke suddenly declare that you are the hacking and spying overlord.

[Skroe]

Putin's legacy is very simple.

When he became President in 2000, Russia was easily the world's #2 most powerful country, behind America, and ahead of the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Germany. The gulf between #2 (Russia) and #3 was enormous. The order was roughly this:
Go back to the year 2000, let's name the most powerful countries in the world in rough order.


(1) The United States
(2) Russia
--- A huge barrier ---
(3) The United Kingdom
(4) France
(5) Germany
(6) Japan
(7) China



Today, in 2017, Russia is the behind America (#1), China (#2) Germany (#3) and Japan (#4)

And now in 2017?

(1) The United States
(2) China
--- A huge barrier ---
(3) Germany (as de-facto leader of the EU).
(4) Japan
(5) Russia
(6) France
(7) The United Kingdom

Worse, while the US has relatively declined compared to China, both have relatively risen as traditional powers (the UK, France, Russia among them) declined, opening a wider gap between Russia and America.


In short his legacy is to put a happy face on Russia's terminal decline from being the world's second most powerful country to a regional spoiler.

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Well, it's pretty easy to look powerful when multiple countries that were openly mocking yours for being a joke suddenly declare that you are the hacking and spying overlord.

Russia is a joke. The danger from Russia comes not from it being strong, but from what it does in desperation as it is weak. Classic cornered/wounded animal behavior.

A strong, confident, restrained Russia would be more stabilizing to the international system in the short term than a weak, uncertain but adventurous one.

[Dextroden]

Putin's legacy is very simple.

When he became President in 2000, Russia was easily the world's #2 most powerful country, behind America, and ahead of the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Germany. The gulf between #2 (Russia) and #3 was enormous. The order was roughly this:
Go back to the year 2000, let's name the most powerful countries in the world in rough order.


(1) The United States
(2) Russia
--- A huge barrier ---
(3) The United Kingdom
(4) France
(5) Germany
(6) Japan
(7) China



Today, in 2017, Russia is the behind America (#1), China (#2) Germany (#3) and Japan (#4)

And now in 2017?

(1) The United States
(2) China
--- A huge barrier ---
(3) Germany (as de-facto leader of the EU).
(4) Japan
(5) Russia
(6) France
(7) The United Kingdom

Worse, while the US has relatively declined compared to China, both have relatively risen as traditional powers (the UK, France, Russia among them) declined, opening a wider gap between Russia and America.


In short his legacy is to put a happy face on Russia's terminal decline from being the world's second most powerful country to a regional spoiler.

- - - Updated - - -



Russia is a joke. The danger from Russia comes not from it being strong, but from what it does in desperation as it is weak. Classic cornered/wounded animal behavior.

A strong, confident, restrained Russia would be more stabilizing to the international system in the short term than a weak, uncertain but adventurous one.

And this weak, desperate Russia managed to upend two massive elections. And forced the name Kremlin back onto the lips of Americans pinning all the blame on Russia. (Because every vote was decided by the Russians, apparently. Every non Hillary vote was the work of the Russians.)

Putin thanks you for fearing him and his country and reminding everyone a joke made this happen.