August 16, 2025

Indicted War Criminal Plays Convicted Felon Like Fiddle


Indicted War Criminal Plays Convicted Felon Like Fiddle
Putin and Trump between two Lenins. Freeskipper / Dreamstime

In the first US-Russian Presidential summit since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the leaders of the two countries met at a remote Alaskan military base, shook hands, smiled, walked down a very long red carpet, drove around in the US limousine nicknamed “The Beast,” and then proceeded to resolve exactly nothing. 

In the buildup to the summit, Convicted Felon and Twice-Impeached President of the United States Donald Trump issued an ultimatum that there would be "severe consequences" for Putin if progress was not made on ending the war. 

No such progress was made, and so Trump let loose his flying monkeys. As he stated in a post-summit interview with Fox Newspeak, "I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now."

Indicted International War Criminal and Russian President for Life Vladimir Putin said in the joint press statement after the leaders’ long private meeting that he was "sincerely interested" in ending his War on Ukraine. But he also said that, to settle it, the "primary roots" of the conflict and the "legitimate concerns" for Russia had to be considered. Those concerns were not specifically noted, but most observers feel they stem from the fact that an independent country named Ukraine has the nerve to exist on Russia’s western border. 

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said with the vacuous pomposity for which he is noted. Also, he said Ukrainian President should “take the deal.”

“It would be hard to imagine an event that could have gone better from the point of view of the Russian leader,” wrote The New York Times

Wolfgang Ischinger, head of the Munich Security Conference, said the summit was a clear "1-0" victory for Putin. "Putin got his red carpet treatment with Trump, while Trump got nothing," he posted on X. "As was to be feared: no ceasefire, no peace."

“The photo-op in and of itself essentially legitimizes war crimes,” said Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut. “[It] telegraphs to other autocrats or evil men around the world that they can get away with murdering civilians and still get a photo-op with the president of the United States.” 

Trump said that he would rate the meeting a 10 out of 10, saying, "I think the meeting was a 10 in the sense that we got along great."  

When asked about what agreements were made at his Alaskan Nothingburger Summit, Trump noted cryptically, "some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant. We have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there."

You Might Also Like

The Moscow Summit
  • May 01, 2002

The Moscow Summit

In May, US President George Bush became only the sixth sitting US President to visit Russia. On the eve of this visit, we met with one of Russia's leading Amerikanists, Georgi Bovt, and got his read on what to expect for the summit and the months beyond.
US & Russia: Allies Again?
  • November 01, 2001

US & Russia: Allies Again?

The September 11 terrorist bombings have changed everything, including, it seems, the nature of the US-Russian relationship. Russian Life talked with a Russian opinion leader to gauge what the future may hold.
A Soviet Leader in the US? Preposterous!
  • September 15, 2014

A Soviet Leader in the US? Preposterous!

When you're a Soviet dictator, it's rare that you get the chance to tour the US, visiting movie sets, meat freezers, and steel mills, being featured on TV, and laughing at angry farmers. Nikita Khrushchev got that chance 55 years ago. And he made the most of it.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955