I see a lot of poo-poohing of the influence aspect of this. The biggest example is the man at the top, Gerhard Schröder, the former Chancellor of Germany. As

I see a lot of poo-poohing of the influence aspect of this. The biggest example is the man at the top, Gerhard Schröder, the former Chancellor of Germany. As Chancellor, he began the phaseout of nuclear energy and approved the Nord Stream gas pipeline directly from Russia to Germany. Today he's: 1. The Chairman of Nord Stream, the company that owns the pipeline 2. The Chairman of Rosneft, the third largest company in Russia 3. A member of the board of directors of Gazprom, the largest company in Russia You figure it out.