Douglas Selvage
@deselv.bsky.social
Independent Historian. Expert on Soviet-bloc history, active measures, Stasi and KGB. RT does not mean endorsement. Views are mine, not those of my employer.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
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 15, 2025 at 7:07 PM
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...
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
@ilkokowalczuk.bsky.social
Hier die hörenswerte Festrede des Historikers Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
vor dem Landtag in Thüringen:
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ddr-regime-w...
Hier die hörenswerte Festrede des Historikers Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
vor dem Landtag in Thüringen:
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ddr-regime-w...
Festrede - 35 Jahre Thüringer Landtag: Appell für die Freiheit
Von "Erziehung zum Hass" als Grundpfeiler des DDR-Regimes spricht Historiker Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk. Mit dem Hass sei Verantwortung geleugnet worden.
www.deutschlandfunk.de
November 4, 2025 at 9:26 AM
@ilkokowalczuk.bsky.social
Hier die hörenswerte Festrede des Historikers Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
vor dem Landtag in Thüringen:
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ddr-regime-w...
Hier die hörenswerte Festrede des Historikers Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
vor dem Landtag in Thüringen:
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ddr-regime-w...
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Keine Ahnung wie oft ich das schon sagte: AfD und BSW sind zwei Seiten einer Medaille - beide sind Kreml-Außenposten, beide vertreten Putins Interessen in Deutschland www.t-online.de/nachrichten/...
AfD-Treffen mit Medwedew: Kreml organisiert Widerstand gegen Merz – auch BSW verstrickt
Russland baut Kontakte zu Abgeordneten aus AfD und BSW auf. Sie sollen Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz untergraben. AfD-Politiker treffen Dmitri Medwedew in Russland.
www.t-online.de
November 6, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Keine Ahnung wie oft ich das schon sagte: AfD und BSW sind zwei Seiten einer Medaille - beide sind Kreml-Außenposten, beide vertreten Putins Interessen in Deutschland www.t-online.de/nachrichten/...
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Should be a great event for those interested in researching Cold War intelligence. Speakers are @deselv.bsky.social of the Institute for Historical Scholarship at Humboldt University in Berlin; Gary Keeley former historian at CIA; and Mark Kramer, director of the Cold War Studies Project at Harvard.
Soviet-Bloc and US Intelligence Operations During the Cold War
Join Douglas Selvage, expert on East German State Security files, historian Gary Keeley, and Mark Kramer for a discussion of Cold War archives that offer valuable resources for students and scholars a...
daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
October 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Should be a great event for those interested in researching Cold War intelligence. Speakers are @deselv.bsky.social of the Institute for Historical Scholarship at Humboldt University in Berlin; Gary Keeley former historian at CIA; and Mark Kramer, director of the Cold War Studies Project at Harvard.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Someone please kill me right now.
September 1, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Someone please kill me right now.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
We’re getting tons of retrospective analysis of COVID policies: masks, closures, comms failures,etc. But the other side of the “loss of trust in institutions” was a *deliberate effort* — by antivaxxers & right-wing influencers — to intentionally erode confidence in public health. No reckoning there.
We’re getting books and thinkpieces and how 2020–21 COVID public health policies “went too far,” and zero books or thinkpieces about how COVID has specifically radicalized Republicans against the idea of communicable disease
www.fox19.com/2025/07/23/s...
www.fox19.com/2025/07/23/s...
School district says doctor’s notes will no longer excuse child absences
A school district in Tennessee said doctor’s notes will no longer excuse a child’s absence.
www.fox19.com
July 26, 2025 at 11:15 AM
We’re getting tons of retrospective analysis of COVID policies: masks, closures, comms failures,etc. But the other side of the “loss of trust in institutions” was a *deliberate effort* — by antivaxxers & right-wing influencers — to intentionally erode confidence in public health. No reckoning there.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Yes, as a Soviet historian who has written an article on AIDS, I obviously already know this. Also, @deselv.bsky.social has published two articles dealing with this topic: direct.mit.edu/jcws/article... and direct.mit.edu/jcws/article...
Operation “Denver”: The East German Ministry of State Security and the KGB's AIDS Disinformation Campaign, 1985–1986 (Part 1)
Abstract. There has been much debate in recent years about the role of the East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi) in the disinformation campaign launched in the early 1980s by the Soviet Stat...
direct.mit.edu
May 7, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Yes, as a Soviet historian who has written an article on AIDS, I obviously already know this. Also, @deselv.bsky.social has published two articles dealing with this topic: direct.mit.edu/jcws/article... and direct.mit.edu/jcws/article...
Christo Grozev from Bellingcat: ““Let’s hire an ISIS suicide bomber to blow him up in the street!”: Europe’s most wanted man plotted my murder — and that of my colleague” theins.ru/en/inv/279034
“Let’s hire an ISIS suicide bomber to blow him up in the street!”: Europe’s most wanted man plotted my murder — and that of my colleague
A jury at the Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal Court, has just found six of my compatriots — citizens of Bulgaria — guilty of conspiring with the Kremlin to kidnap and possibly murder me and my c...
theins.ru
March 25, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Christo Grozev from Bellingcat: ““Let’s hire an ISIS suicide bomber to blow him up in the street!”: Europe’s most wanted man plotted my murder — and that of my colleague” theins.ru/en/inv/279034
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Also, at an interpersonal level, what is going on if you think it’s amusing to crack wise about the takeover of someone’s home country? What reaction are you expecting? A light, polite chuckle because I’m a stereotypical Canadian?
March 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Also, at an interpersonal level, what is going on if you think it’s amusing to crack wise about the takeover of someone’s home country? What reaction are you expecting? A light, polite chuckle because I’m a stereotypical Canadian?
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
This story makes a really powerful (and tragically depressing) point: that there is no evidence strong enough to counter a world view anchored in conspiracy theory and reinforced by a multitide of motivated "influencers" — even the death of one's own child.
Mom of child dead from measles: “Don’t do the shots,” my other 4 kids were fine arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
Mom of child dead from measles: “Don’t do the shots,” my other 4 kids were fine
The interview downplayed the disease, maligned vaccines…
arstechnica.com
March 21, 2025 at 4:34 PM
This story makes a really powerful (and tragically depressing) point: that there is no evidence strong enough to counter a world view anchored in conspiracy theory and reinforced by a multitide of motivated "influencers" — even the death of one's own child.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
The stories within this story are haunting: a woman on a domestic road trip who forgot her passport. A mother who undergoes annual background checks to renew her work authorization, and this year ICE decided she had to do that while in custody. A student who overstayed her visa by three days.
I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped
I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped
I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky
www.theguardian.com
March 20, 2025 at 1:10 AM
The stories within this story are haunting: a woman on a domestic road trip who forgot her passport. A mother who undergoes annual background checks to renew her work authorization, and this year ICE decided she had to do that while in custody. A student who overstayed her visa by three days.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Ein französischer Wissenschaftler wurde kürzlich an der Einreise in die USA gehindert. Grund waren Trump-kritische Chats. DAS ist wirklich gemeint, wenn „MAGA“ von ihrem Kampf für Meinungsfreiheit spricht.
If you're critical of the US government and you are planning to cross the US border any time soon, today is a good day to review EFF's border search pocket guide: www.eff.org/document/eff...
EFF Border Search Pocket Guide
border-pocket-guide-2.pdf
www.eff.org
March 20, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Ein französischer Wissenschaftler wurde kürzlich an der Einreise in die USA gehindert. Grund waren Trump-kritische Chats. DAS ist wirklich gemeint, wenn „MAGA“ von ihrem Kampf für Meinungsfreiheit spricht.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Not exactly. The “new era” of govt censorship of research started 2 yrs ago. The censorship EO was originally written to target academic institutions that’d pointed out that the Big Lie was a lie and the 2020 election was free and fair.
What you’re seeing now is it coming for everyone else.
What you’re seeing now is it coming for everyone else.
A new era of government censorship has begun.
It started with the silencing of scientific speech, when the admin blocked release of research on bird flu. But MAGA has also cracked down on other wrongthink—on race, geography (!), and of course Trump himself
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
It started with the silencing of scientific speech, when the admin blocked release of research on bird flu. But MAGA has also cracked down on other wrongthink—on race, geography (!), and of course Trump himself
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | A new era of government censorship has dawned
Donald Trump fancies himself a champion of free speech. Oh, really?
www.washingtonpost.com
March 16, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Not exactly. The “new era” of govt censorship of research started 2 yrs ago. The censorship EO was originally written to target academic institutions that’d pointed out that the Big Lie was a lie and the 2020 election was free and fair.
What you’re seeing now is it coming for everyone else.
What you’re seeing now is it coming for everyone else.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Trump is also trying to kill the Wilson Center, where I spent four years at the Kennan Institute and Science and Technology Innovation Program.
Onto the Wilson Center, the nation's premier nonpartisan policy shop.
I spent 4 years there, and I'm proud to say that both Republicans & Democrats benefited from my advice, analysis, and scholarship while I was there.
In fact, my very first Congressional testimony was at Grassley's invitation 7/
I spent 4 years there, and I'm proud to say that both Republicans & Democrats benefited from my advice, analysis, and scholarship while I was there.
In fact, my very first Congressional testimony was at Grassley's invitation 7/
March 16, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Trump is also trying to kill the Wilson Center, where I spent four years at the Kennan Institute and Science and Technology Innovation Program.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
My first internship in Washington was at the Wilson Center in its Cold War history program. It was a great place to learn about DC and get exposed to a cross section of the city.
The Act of Congress establishing the Wilson Center doesn’t have a provision saying the president can abolish it by EO: www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
www.govinfo.gov
March 15, 2025 at 11:43 PM
My first internship in Washington was at the Wilson Center in its Cold War history program. It was a great place to learn about DC and get exposed to a cross section of the city.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Nicht nur in Belgrad gibt es heute Massenproteste. Auch in Ungarn sind die Menschen in Massen auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen den prorussischen Präsidenten Orbán zu demonstrieren.
Auch in Georgien gibt es weiter Massenproteste.
Auch in Georgien gibt es weiter Massenproteste.
Thousands took to the streets of Hungary’s capital, Budapest, today in a massive opposition protest, demanding the resignation of pro-Russian PM Orbán.
Opposition leader Péter Magyar declared that those who betray their own nation “should end up in the dustbin of history.”
Opposition leader Péter Magyar declared that those who betray their own nation “should end up in the dustbin of history.”
March 15, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Nicht nur in Belgrad gibt es heute Massenproteste. Auch in Ungarn sind die Menschen in Massen auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen den prorussischen Präsidenten Orbán zu demonstrieren.
Auch in Georgien gibt es weiter Massenproteste.
Auch in Georgien gibt es weiter Massenproteste.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Take a moment today to read about a few of the young children whom Trump and Musk killed by shutting down USAID. The blame for these deaths falls on them.
There will be hundreds of thousands more dead kids before their lethal crusade against foreign aid ends. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
There will be hundreds of thousands more dead kids before their lethal crusade against foreign aid ends. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
March 15, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Take a moment today to read about a few of the young children whom Trump and Musk killed by shutting down USAID. The blame for these deaths falls on them.
There will be hundreds of thousands more dead kids before their lethal crusade against foreign aid ends. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
There will be hundreds of thousands more dead kids before their lethal crusade against foreign aid ends. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
It seems I've also been placed on leave, just like the rest of my VOA colleagues.
Truth is, I can't know for sure, because when I woke up this morning in Seoul, I'd already been locked out of all VOA-related systems and accounts.
Truth is, I can't know for sure, because when I woke up this morning in Seoul, I'd already been locked out of all VOA-related systems and accounts.
My colleagues and our broadcasts, devoted to telling America’s story to the world — honestly, fairly and with an unwavering commitment to the truth, are being silenced this weekend. open.substack.com/pub/newsguy/...
Requiem for the voice that carried a nation’s conscience
VOA's signal for 83 years crossed borders and ideologies—now its silence will speak volumes.
open.substack.com
March 16, 2025 at 1:09 AM
It seems I've also been placed on leave, just like the rest of my VOA colleagues.
Truth is, I can't know for sure, because when I woke up this morning in Seoul, I'd already been locked out of all VOA-related systems and accounts.
Truth is, I can't know for sure, because when I woke up this morning in Seoul, I'd already been locked out of all VOA-related systems and accounts.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Every part of this story is enraging and insane
Her research grant mentioned ‘hesitancy.’ Now her funding is gone.
A medical researcher may have erroneously lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money because she was swept up in Trump administration efforts to ban studies of vaccine hesitancy and uptake.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 16, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Every part of this story is enraging and insane
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
I spent a lot of time in my book breaking down WHY this is happening — it’s *content meets community*
- A lot of people don’t want “politics” or “news”, they want to be entertained…comedy, culture
- They want to feel like they’re listening to someone relatable, who talks like them, is like them.
- A lot of people don’t want “politics” or “news”, they want to be entertained…comedy, culture
- They want to feel like they’re listening to someone relatable, who talks like them, is like them.
As more and more Americans get their news from online shows and streamers, our analysis found that this expanding media ecosystem is overwhelmingly right-leaning. 🧵: www.mediamatters.org/google/right...
March 14, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I spent a lot of time in my book breaking down WHY this is happening — it’s *content meets community*
- A lot of people don’t want “politics” or “news”, they want to be entertained…comedy, culture
- They want to feel like they’re listening to someone relatable, who talks like them, is like them.
- A lot of people don’t want “politics” or “news”, they want to be entertained…comedy, culture
- They want to feel like they’re listening to someone relatable, who talks like them, is like them.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
I struggle to express just how *weird* Vance’s #MSC2025 speech was. This is a transatlantic security conference, happening while there is a war in Europe, and the US is announcing a partial withdrawal from European security. And the US VP speaks about (alleged) threats to free speech in Europe??
February 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM
I struggle to express just how *weird* Vance’s #MSC2025 speech was. This is a transatlantic security conference, happening while there is a war in Europe, and the US is announcing a partial withdrawal from European security. And the US VP speaks about (alleged) threats to free speech in Europe??
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Should have frozen the conflict in May 1775 with both sides keeping the land they held to avoid further bloodshed.
February 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Should have frozen the conflict in May 1775 with both sides keeping the land they held to avoid further bloodshed.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
AUSA Hagan Scotten, former clerk for John Roberts, really put some mustard on his resignation letter.
February 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM
AUSA Hagan Scotten, former clerk for John Roberts, really put some mustard on his resignation letter.
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Not exaggerating when I say that the path back is going to be built on people in positions of influence regaining their sense of self-respect.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
February 14, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Not exaggerating when I say that the path back is going to be built on people in positions of influence regaining their sense of self-respect.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
Reposted by Douglas Selvage
Great news!
Salma al-Shehab was arrested in January 2021 for social media posts that simply promoted rights for people in #SaudiArabia. Since then we campaigned often for her release. So we're thrilled she's out of jail but angered thinking of the years she lost.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Leeds student jailed in Saudi Arabia for 34 years over tweets is released
Salma al-Shehab was arrested in 2021 during holiday in Saudi Arabia after posting tweets in support of women’s rights
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Great news!