Mark Galeotti
@MarkGaleotti
Mayak Intelligence, @UCLSSEES, @RUSI_org, @ConGeostrategy, @IIR_Prague. Analyst of murky topics from Russian politics to global crime. Views my own
Since when is being a citizen of a country equivalent to supporting its government? This is the perverse logic of dictatorships. By this standard, as a U.S. citizen, Mike @McFaul is a supporter of Donald J. Trump.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, in an interview with Yuri Dud, a co-author of sanctions against Russia, called on Russians who have left Russia to renounce their Russian citizenship, emphasizing that dual citizenship is not acceptable. He stated: "You cannot…
@ICDS_Tallinn @MarkGaleotti
A breath of fresh air amidst all the alarmist 'Narva next' hype, from @MarekKohv of the @ICDS_Tallinn, that breaks down all the (many) reasons why Russian 'little green men' would not be repeating the Crimean scenario in Estonia
A breath of fresh air amidst all the alarmist 'Narva next' hype, from @MarekKohv of the @ICDS_Tallinn, that breaks down all the (many) reasons why Russian 'little green men' would not be repeating the Crimean scenario in Estonia
Marek Kohv: Dispelling the 'Is Narva Next?' narrative #Estonia news.err.ee/1609751759/mar…
I commend @KyivIndependent detailed reporting on the bill that threatens to neuter post-Maidan anti-corruption institutions — and related worrying and baffling developments.
Ukraine faced a watershed moment on July 22 as parliament passed, and the president signed, a bill that effectively eliminates the independence of the country's anti-corruption institutions. kyivindependent.com/potential-elim…
Even before the latest news, the Kremlin had its line on Ukraine ready. As Rossiiskaya Gazeta put it: "Yermak and Zelensky have chosen the right moment to collapse the system of [US] control over domestic Ukrainian politics built under Obama and Biden." rg.ru/2025/07/22/sli…
![MarkGaleotti's tweet image. Even before the latest news, the Kremlin had its line on Ukraine ready. As Rossiiskaya Gazeta put it: "Yermak and Zelensky have chosen the right moment to collapse the system of [US] control over domestic Ukrainian politics built under Obama and Biden."
rg.ru/2025/07/22/sli…](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GwehXGvW8AAD8ru.jpg)
🧵A lengthy thread here on today's news of searches and arrests in Ukraine and what the various parties involved as well as civil society and Kyiv's Western backers see happening.
Lessons Lost in Time: Russia’s Worldview “Forged in War” w/ Dr. Mark Galeotti Talking over the themes of my @OspreyBooks book FORGED IN WAR with @Dapper408 for his excellent podcast series podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/les…
"WhatsApp is owned by extremists and therefore poses a threat" Russian legislators move to ban the 2nd most popular messaging app in the country...
Monday morning re-up: how Moscow is being in effect driven into Beijing's orbit, but China and Russia still have very definitely different interests. Oh, and why the new sanctions imposed and threatened aren't really going to make a big difference...
In Moscow's Shadows 209: Eagle, Dragon, Bear - how the Ukraine war drives Moscow into Beijing's orbit 1st half offers (jaundiced) take on Trump's 50-day ultimatum and new EU and UK sanctions; 2nd pivots to Russia-China relationship buzzsprout.com/1026985/episod…
In Moscow's Shadows 209: Eagle, Dragon, Bear - how the Ukraine war drives Moscow into Beijing's orbit 1st half offers (jaundiced) take on Trump's 50-day ultimatum and new EU and UK sanctions; 2nd pivots to Russia-China relationship buzzsprout.com/1026985/episod…
Xi, not Trump, has the most power over Putin. Will he use it? Spoiler alert: he won't. However, the implication of Trump's threat of secondary sanctions is to bring Xi closer into the Trump/Putin psychodrama. My latest for @thetimes (£) thetimes.com/world/russia-u…
Kremlin-watcher Mark Galeotti: ‘Moskou ziet Trump als een luidruchtige Biden met een ander kapsel’ Interviewed about Russia and Ukraine (and a bit of Trump) for @tijd tijd.be/dossiers/rusla…
Readworthy: „Why Putin’s elites keep dying“ - @MarkGaleotti for @SpecCoffeeHouse. spectator.co.uk/article/why-pu…
📚Book of the Week 📚 In this week’s pick, @scrawnya & @MarkGaleotti dive into Yevgeny Prigozhin’s role in Russian politics and explore what his rise to power reveals about the inner workings of the Kremlin. Read @Marina_Miron’s review of Downfall here: doi.org/10.1093/ia/iia…
There again I also agree with George Curzon about a Russia master plan or grand strategy today. Far from being ‘consistent or remorseless or profound’, he wrote in 1889, ‘I believe it to be a hand to mouth policy, a policy of waiting upon events, of profiting by the blunders of…
As in the 1820s, and as now, Britain’s role is simple: to limit the power of Russia. From The Silk Road.
Ze is pitching a “mega deal” where the U.S. buys Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv agreeing to buy U.S. arms. But the NY Post’s report then says Ze is “offering to share everything it’s learned about modern warfare in the 3-year conflict with Russia,” which sounds different.
Sat down with @gavinesler for the latest in his This Is Not A Drill podcasts to talk about Trump and Putin. How tough is the Donald really getting? podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/thi…
Lessons for the UK from Managing Grey Zone Hostility in Taiwan An excellent conclusion to @shetlerjones's no-punches-pulled critique of a lot of 'grey zone' wishy-washery rusi.org/explore-our-re…
A reminder politics haven’t gone away in wartime Ukraine, even if some of those quoted appear motivated by personal animus towards Zelensky. Difficult times. Ukrainians have lost faith in Zelensky spectator.co.uk/article/ukrain…
And I should add that it comes out in Dutch with @prometheusbb at the end of this month: uitgeverijprometheus.nl/boeken/homo-cr…
Out on 7 August, my new book HOMO CRIMINALIS, an organised crime history of the world, with @EburyPublishing. Everything you needed to know about Aztec cocoa bean counterfeiting, how beaches become smuggled commodities, and the crimes of the future…