Eugene Finkel
@efinkel.bsky.social
Professor, Johns Hopkins SAIS. Study horrible things that happen to OK people, write books, overuse sarcasm. Lviv-Haifa-Jerusalem-Madison-New Haven-Washington-Bologna.
Pinned
Why, isn't it great that "no word from Russia" is now just a "minor detail"
Ukraine agrees to peace proposal, with only "minor details" to settle, official says, but no word from Russia
A push by the Trump administration to end Russia's war on Ukraine appears to make headway, with Kyiv saying Zelenskyy could visit D.C. within days to finalize a deal.
www.cbsnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Why, isn't it great that "no word from Russia" is now just a "minor detail"
Vance, Rubio, and Hegseth definitely need a 28-point plan to solve their senseless war that would have never happened if the US had proper leadership. If Dmitriev is willing to draft a new one, I volunteer to translate it from Russian and promise to do it better than Witkoff.
FWIW, RUMINT, but pretty reliable:
1. Vance key to US embrace of Russia plan on Ukraine, Rubio (and even Trump) out of the loop.
2. Vance-Rubio relations “awful.”
3. Rubio told the senators exactly what they said he told them.
4. Hegseth paranoid he’ll be shoved out, Driscoll will replace him.
1. Vance key to US embrace of Russia plan on Ukraine, Rubio (and even Trump) out of the loop.
2. Vance-Rubio relations “awful.”
3. Rubio told the senators exactly what they said he told them.
4. Hegseth paranoid he’ll be shoved out, Driscoll will replace him.
November 23, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Vance, Rubio, and Hegseth definitely need a 28-point plan to solve their senseless war that would have never happened if the US had proper leadership. If Dmitriev is willing to draft a new one, I volunteer to translate it from Russian and promise to do it better than Witkoff.
Reposted by Eugene Finkel
Having a bit of a moment in the White House.
November 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Having a bit of a moment in the White House.
Why are we still calling it a plan?
November 23, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Why are we still calling it a plan?
A barely competent government would be a nice thing to have, actually. Other countries have it, we might try as well.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a call to senators, confirmed the so-called 28-point “peace plan” was actually a Russian wishlist and is “not the administration’s position”. Nor is there any threat to cut off weapons or intelligence to Ukraine.
November 22, 2025 at 11:27 PM
A barely competent government would be a nice thing to have, actually. Other countries have it, we might try as well.
Like clockwork
Is the EU already trying to sabotage new Ukraine peace plan?
The goal appears not to be a better peace, but to hollow out the American proposal until it becomes unacceptable to Moscow
responsiblestatecraft.org
November 22, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Like clockwork
Hunderd years from now, the few surviving historians of WWIII would wonder why all those rich EU countries couldn't simply present Trump with a life-size golden statue of St. Donald vanquishing a Putin shaped dragon and nip this entire thing in the bud.
November 22, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Hunderd years from now, the few surviving historians of WWIII would wonder why all those rich EU countries couldn't simply present Trump with a life-size golden statue of St. Donald vanquishing a Putin shaped dragon and nip this entire thing in the bud.
And no, it doesn't sound better in the original Russian
More evidence that the Trump/Witkoff “peace plan” for Ukraine came straight from the Russians - it uses Russian syntax.
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
November 21, 2025 at 6:33 PM
And no, it doesn't sound better in the original Russian
Evergreen, just replace Alaska with whichever abomination the Molotov-Witkoff duo is engaged in right now
Public Service Announcement: if what's happening in Alaska makes you sick, a donation to Ukraine would improve your health
UNITED24 - The initiative of the President of Ukraine
UNITED24 was launched by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the main venue for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine. Funds will be transferred to the official accounts of...
u24.gov.ua
November 21, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Evergreen, just replace Alaska with whichever abomination the Molotov-Witkoff duo is engaged in right now
I am really interested to learn how, practically speaking, they plan on making the ICC indictments just go away. And if not, how Putin, readmitted to G-8 (another part of the plans) is going to travel to all those summits
All the rape, torture, and murder will be brushed under the carpet, a great lesson for any future war criminals.
November 21, 2025 at 10:18 AM
I am really interested to learn how, practically speaking, they plan on making the ICC indictments just go away. And if not, how Putin, readmitted to G-8 (another part of the plans) is going to travel to all those summits
If this is indeed the plan, I am humbly calling on the world's most powerful leaders to stop asking dilettante real estate developers to feed ChatGPT with prompts along the lines of "Ignore all history and write me a plan to achieve a world peace in our lifetime and make Putin happy."
Read the full text of Trump’s 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan on.ft.com/4ibYCHp
Read the full text of Trump’s 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan
[FREE TO READ] Proposed deal would limit size of Ukrainian forces and calls on Kyiv to withdraw troops from eastern Donetsk
on.ft.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:24 AM
If this is indeed the plan, I am humbly calling on the world's most powerful leaders to stop asking dilettante real estate developers to feed ChatGPT with prompts along the lines of "Ignore all history and write me a plan to achieve a world peace in our lifetime and make Putin happy."
NATO's expansion and American imperialism made him do it
MIT's famous linguistic professor Noam Chomsky was in regular and close contact with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a review of emails published by the U.S. House Oversight Committee. In the documents, Chomsky described Epstein as a "highly valued friend."
Epstein emails show close connection with MIT's Noam Chomsky
MIT's famous linguistic professor Noam Chomsky was in regular and close contact with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a review of emails published by the U.S. House Oversight Committee. In t...
www.wbur.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
NATO's expansion and American imperialism made him do it
Reposted by Eugene Finkel
Reposted by Eugene Finkel
‘They have total impunity’: West Bank settler violence surges after Gaza ceasefire
UN logs 260 attacks in October alone, its highest monthly tally, as settlers attack farmers and burn olive trees
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
UN logs 260 attacks in October alone, its highest monthly tally, as settlers attack farmers and burn olive trees
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘They have total impunity’: West Bank settler violence surges after Gaza ceasefire
UN logs 260 attacks in October alone, its highest monthly tally, as settlers attack farmers and burn olive trees
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:42 PM
‘They have total impunity’: West Bank settler violence surges after Gaza ceasefire
UN logs 260 attacks in October alone, its highest monthly tally, as settlers attack farmers and burn olive trees
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
UN logs 260 attacks in October alone, its highest monthly tally, as settlers attack farmers and burn olive trees
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
If the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing all over again while expecting different results, is US policy total insanity? Or just simple incompetence? Or insane incompetence? Incompetent insanity?
New: I can confirm hasty US-Russia proposal being pushed to Ukrainians via Dmitriev-Witkoff to Umerov. It would amount to Ukraine’s capitulation, with people familiar saying it’s Kremlin’s maximalist demands.
-Ukraine army cut 1/2
-Give up certain weapons
-Give up Donbas
-Zelensky displeased
More tk
-Ukraine army cut 1/2
-Give up certain weapons
-Give up Donbas
-Zelensky displeased
More tk
November 19, 2025 at 5:13 PM
If the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing all over again while expecting different results, is US policy total insanity? Or just simple incompetence? Or insane incompetence? Incompetent insanity?
It's corruption only it comes from the Corruptian Mountains of Eastern Europe, otherwise it is just a sparkling gold bar.
To negotiate a trade deal with the President of the United States, the Swiss government arrived with a "special Rolex desktop clock" and "a 1-kilogram personalized gold bar"
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:08 AM
It's corruption only it comes from the Corruptian Mountains of Eastern Europe, otherwise it is just a sparkling gold bar.
Of course I knew that Epstein files must contain some pretty shocking stuff but "churkin was great" was not on my bingo list
NEW: Jeffrey Epstein said in emails that he had been advising the Russian government on how to deal with Donald Trump, one of several cases in which he wielded his connections to try to influence the course of foreign affairs. w @nahaltoosi
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
November 12, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Of course I knew that Epstein files must contain some pretty shocking stuff but "churkin was great" was not on my bingo list
Netanyahu hasn't evrn been convicted yet, and Trump is already working on a pardon. Felons of the world, unite!
Trump sends letter to Herzog asking him to pardon Netanyahu, says corruption trial ‘unjustified’
* * *
www.timesofisrael.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Netanyahu hasn't evrn been convicted yet, and Trump is already working on a pardon. Felons of the world, unite!
Reposted by Eugene Finkel
I’m thrilled that the Kennan Institute is back as an independent institution and delighted to have joined as a non-resident fellow www.kennaninstitute.org
Kennan Institute | Advancing Scholarship and Statecraft
Explore expert analysis on Russia, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia. Stay informed with the latest research, events, and policy insights from The Kennan Institute.
www.kennaninstitute.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I’m thrilled that the Kennan Institute is back as an independent institution and delighted to have joined as a non-resident fellow www.kennaninstitute.org
For what it worth, it could be twice the number of people killed in Gaza over two years in a single day, and nobody would still lift a finger because most people consciously decided not to give a shit about Sudan. Because reasons.
“We're seeing a level of proliferation of bodies & body piles from space that's unlike anything I've ever seen…”
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.
🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
November 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
For what it worth, it could be twice the number of people killed in Gaza over two years in a single day, and nobody would still lift a finger because most people consciously decided not to give a shit about Sudan. Because reasons.
Reposted by Eugene Finkel
Congratulations to Eugene Finkel, honorable mention recipient of the Omeljan Pritsak Book Prize for Intent to Destroy: Russia’s Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine with Basic Books.
#ASEEESPrizes
See all winners: buff.ly/263LQUf
@efinkel.bsky.social
#ASEEESPrizes
See all winners: buff.ly/263LQUf
@efinkel.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Congratulations to Eugene Finkel, honorable mention recipient of the Omeljan Pritsak Book Prize for Intent to Destroy: Russia’s Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine with Basic Books.
#ASEEESPrizes
See all winners: buff.ly/263LQUf
@efinkel.bsky.social
#ASEEESPrizes
See all winners: buff.ly/263LQUf
@efinkel.bsky.social
The biggest takeaway of yesterday's election is that you can win in NYC as a progressive and in Virginia as a moderate Democrat. Thanks for coming to my TED talk
November 5, 2025 at 7:27 AM
The biggest takeaway of yesterday's election is that you can win in NYC as a progressive and in Virginia as a moderate Democrat. Thanks for coming to my TED talk
During my times the PhD students workroom at the University of Wisconsin political science department, where Cheney started, but not finish his doctorate had a picture of him with the caption "You can always quit." Well, he eventually did.
November 4, 2025 at 12:45 PM
During my times the PhD students workroom at the University of Wisconsin political science department, where Cheney started, but not finish his doctorate had a picture of him with the caption "You can always quit." Well, he eventually did.
Vienna people, if you have nothing better to do Thursday evening, do come!
Our next Transformative Salon is coming up already next week – Prof. Eugene Finkel (@johnshopkinssais.bsky.social) will be presenting his new book "Intent to Destroy", commented by Prof. Alexander Etkind (@weareceu.bsky.social), moderated by Cathrin Kahlweit.
November 4, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Vienna people, if you have nothing better to do Thursday evening, do come!
Also, hosts a campus or two of this or that prestigious university. Just sayin
When we look at this massacre and many more perpetrated by the RSF, let's be clear who funds, equips & sustains them. It's the UAE. Yes, the same UAE that might own your football club, fly you on your holidays, invests in our national infrastructure. If boycotts work, we should be boycotting now.
“Individuals on the ground sent a message that reached us Monday morning that 1,200 were dead,” Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director, said. “By that evening, they said 10,000. By Tuesday, we couldn’t reach them anymore. We assume our ground contacts are dead.”
November 1, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Also, hosts a campus or two of this or that prestigious university. Just sayin