Anne Applebaum
@anneapplebaum.bsky.social
staff writer @theatlantic.com and senior fellow @snfagora.bsky.social. author of GULAG, IRON CURTAIN, RED FAMINE, TWILIGHT OF DEMOCRACY and AUTOCRACY INC
https://linktr.ee/anneapplebaum
https://linktr.ee/anneapplebaum
Pinned
Anne Applebaum
@anneapplebaum.bsky.social
ยท Aug 26
Paperback, with new preface, available TODAY
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725302...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725302...
The families of Danes killed in Afghanistan have a message for Trump
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
The Sacrifice of the Danes
After September 11, Denmark fought alongside its ally. The families of fallen soldiers have a message for Trump.
www.theatlantic.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:58 PM
The families of Danes killed in Afghanistan have a message for Trump
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
the quote is from @molly.wiki, one of the stars of this episode
January 16, 2026 at 1:20 PM
the quote is from @molly.wiki, one of the stars of this episode
"Weโre actually seeing new super PACs being established. One of them has already committed to spending $100 million in the midterms. And weโre seeing politicians and candidates speaking very frankly about wanting to install pro-crypto candidates"
more here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
more here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
How Crypto Is Used for Political Corruption
This new source of money is giving the administration unprecedented new powers.
www.theatlantic.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:32 PM
"Weโre actually seeing new super PACs being established. One of them has already committed to spending $100 million in the midterms. And weโre seeing politicians and candidates speaking very frankly about wanting to install pro-crypto candidates"
more here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
more here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
or Spotify
open.spotify.com/show/0ujIGO5...
open.spotify.com/show/0ujIGO5...
Crypto Corruption
open.spotify.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:31 AM
or Spotify
open.spotify.com/show/0ujIGO5...
open.spotify.com/show/0ujIGO5...
How Crypto Is Used for Political Corruption
The Autocracy in America podcast, episode 2
Listen here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
The Autocracy in America podcast, episode 2
Listen here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
How Crypto Is Used for Political Corruption
This new source of money is giving the administration unprecedented new powers.
www.theatlantic.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:23 AM
How Crypto Is Used for Political Corruption
The Autocracy in America podcast, episode 2
Listen here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
The Autocracy in America podcast, episode 2
Listen here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
of course
The deal has kick-started the presidentโs controversial plan to sell up to 50mn barrels of Venezuelan oil, with more sales expected in the โcoming days and weeksโ. ft.trib.al/a2pf6om
January 16, 2026 at 8:12 AM
of course
If you are in Davis on 9 February, please come!
The annual Eugene Lunn Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Pulitzer prize-winning historian and journalist Anne Applebaum on Monday, February 9, 2026 from 4-6 pm at the Manetti Shrem Art Museum. The event (including reception) is free and open to the public.
January 16, 2026 at 6:40 AM
If you are in Davis on 9 February, please come!
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
If we break our alliances, we are smaller and weaker. If we break them for pride and power and greed, then we donโt just break an alliance, we break our own character. We diminish ourselves in every way that matters, and no amount of newly sovereign frozen ground can obscure our national shame.
Opinion | Something Is Rotten in the State of America
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:08 AM
If we break our alliances, we are smaller and weaker. If we break them for pride and power and greed, then we donโt just break an alliance, we break our own character. We diminish ourselves in every way that matters, and no amount of newly sovereign frozen ground can obscure our national shame.
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
As WSJ calls Mamdani a "communist" for suggesting that the wealthiest pay tax rates that are still lower than they were under Eisenhower, Trump is engaged in bona fide communism by forcing state ownership of major commercial ventures. Here's yet another one.
January 16, 2026 at 3:39 AM
As WSJ calls Mamdani a "communist" for suggesting that the wealthiest pay tax rates that are still lower than they were under Eisenhower, Trump is engaged in bona fide communism by forcing state ownership of major commercial ventures. Here's yet another one.
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
News outlets declaring โTrump Accepts Nobel Peace Prizeโ is a red alert state media indicator
January 16, 2026 at 2:39 AM
News outlets declaring โTrump Accepts Nobel Peace Prizeโ is a red alert state media indicator
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
Protesting government overreach is not insurrection.
They are not preventing ICE from doing immigration enforcement.
They are objecting to an out-of-control agency that continually lies to the public and does harm.
They are not preventing ICE from doing immigration enforcement.
They are objecting to an out-of-control agency that continually lies to the public and does harm.
Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota in a post on Truth Social.
January 15, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Protesting government overreach is not insurrection.
They are not preventing ICE from doing immigration enforcement.
They are objecting to an out-of-control agency that continually lies to the public and does harm.
They are not preventing ICE from doing immigration enforcement.
They are objecting to an out-of-control agency that continually lies to the public and does harm.
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
This is what criminals & soon-to-be-sanctioned dictators do: set up a cozy personal nest egg in a country that won't extradite them & has no agreements that would compel them to enforce other countries' sanctions.
That's why sanctioned Russian oligarchs made a beeline for the UAE in 2022.
That's why sanctioned Russian oligarchs made a beeline for the UAE in 2022.
The main bank account holding revenue from the Venezuelan oil sales is located in Qatar.
โThere is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,โ Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
โThere is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,โ Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
Exclusive: US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar
The details shared with Semafor mark an initial milestone in the administrationโs plan following the ouster of Nicolรกs Maduro.
www.semafor.com
January 15, 2026 at 12:33 PM
This is what criminals & soon-to-be-sanctioned dictators do: set up a cozy personal nest egg in a country that won't extradite them & has no agreements that would compel them to enforce other countries' sanctions.
That's why sanctioned Russian oligarchs made a beeline for the UAE in 2022.
That's why sanctioned Russian oligarchs made a beeline for the UAE in 2022.
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
America's global pre-eminence in research was partly driven by a great power competition. At a time when China is investing more in research, and relaxing visas to attract academic talent, the Trump administration is doing the opposite.
Today in Stupid Data but Right General Conclusion
Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 12:31 PM
America's global pre-eminence in research was partly driven by a great power competition. At a time when China is investing more in research, and relaxing visas to attract academic talent, the Trump administration is doing the opposite.
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
๐จ"This is nuts! What the f*ck is going on, this is insane! ICE is just trying to scare people; they tell you it's only immigrantsโit's f*cking anybody!" -furious Minneapolis resident tells our @zdroberts.bsky.social after ICE shot a man in the leg tonight. LIVE NOW โฌ๏ธ
January 15, 2026 at 3:59 AM
๐จ"This is nuts! What the f*ck is going on, this is insane! ICE is just trying to scare people; they tell you it's only immigrantsโit's f*cking anybody!" -furious Minneapolis resident tells our @zdroberts.bsky.social after ICE shot a man in the leg tonight. LIVE NOW โฌ๏ธ
Exactly one year ago I went to Copenhagen. I wrote about the fallout from Trump's first phone call with the Danish prime minister. Danes have been preparing for this crisis for a year.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Trump Triggers a Crisis in DenmarkโAnd Europe
"Trump might forget about Greenland. But also, he might not. Nobody knows. He operates on whims," @anneapplebaum writes.
www.theatlantic.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Exactly one year ago I went to Copenhagen. I wrote about the fallout from Trump's first phone call with the Danish prime minister. Danes have been preparing for this crisis for a year.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
This is becoming pathological
โ๏ธ Trump: Ukraine less ready to strike peace deal than Putin
Trump: Ukraine less ready to strike peace deal than Putin
US President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rather than Russian leader Vladimir Putin, is slowing down a potential peace deal.
www.pravda.com.ua
January 15, 2026 at 7:22 AM
This is becoming pathological
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
Non-protesting dad just trying to hustle his kids, as young as 6mo, out of the neighborhood. ICE threw a flash-bang INTO HIS car, all 6 kids in the hospital now.
If anyone wondered how things turn against occupying armies there's a case study playing out in front of you.
If anyone wondered how things turn against occupying armies there's a case study playing out in front of you.
That is what was relayed
January 15, 2026 at 4:27 AM
Non-protesting dad just trying to hustle his kids, as young as 6mo, out of the neighborhood. ICE threw a flash-bang INTO HIS car, all 6 kids in the hospital now.
If anyone wondered how things turn against occupying armies there's a case study playing out in front of you.
If anyone wondered how things turn against occupying armies there's a case study playing out in front of you.
Yes, this was predictable. From October, 2024:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
January 15, 2026 at 6:04 AM
Yes, this was predictable. From October, 2024:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
Walz: "What's happening in MN defies belief. News reports simply don't do justice to the level of chaos & disruption & trauma the federal govt is raining down... This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. Instead, it's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of MN"
January 15, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Walz: "What's happening in MN defies belief. News reports simply don't do justice to the level of chaos & disruption & trauma the federal govt is raining down... This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. Instead, it's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of MN"
Reposted by Anne Applebaum
The main bank account holding revenue from the Venezuelan oil sales is located in Qatar.
โThere is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,โ Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
โThere is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,โ Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
Exclusive: US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar
The details shared with Semafor mark an initial milestone in the administrationโs plan following the ouster of Nicolรกs Maduro.
www.semafor.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:42 AM
The main bank account holding revenue from the Venezuelan oil sales is located in Qatar.
โThere is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,โ Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
โThere is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,โ Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
How Trump's bizarre Greenland obsession could create a global crisis. From @radiofreetom.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Trump Is Risking a Global Catastrophe
His irrational fixation on Greenland could lead to widespread conflict.
www.theatlantic.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:44 AM
How Trump's bizarre Greenland obsession could create a global crisis. From @radiofreetom.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...