szakonyi.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Looking forward to this today. The book has gone from Harvard to Columbia and now GWU. Last seen in New York. Thanks for hosting us @szakonyi.bsky.social

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

they are playing him like a fool www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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What if government isn't the problem, very rich people are

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Fact Checking Russia's Invasion of Ukraine with PONARS Ukraine Task Force: www.ponarseurasia.org/task-forces/...

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Great initiative by @ponarseurasia.bsky.social. Journalists, please note the easy links to experts available for commentary.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

The Russians sense that Trump just cares about making money and deals, and are trotting out the man with the most Western experience along those lines There's a quote from me in here as well www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Coinbase says that the SEC has agreed to drop the enforcement case against the company. It only cost them $75 million in political contributions.

submitted 7 days ago • 31 comments

How many federal workers would DOGE need to fire to make up for Musk not paying his fair share of taxes? Answer: 677,000. That's 44% of the entire non-DoD federal workforce. Again, this power grab is not about the budget. It’s about politics.

submitted 7 days ago • 62 comments

The DOGE firings have nothing to do with “efficiency” or “cutting waste.” They’re a direct push to weaken federal agencies perceived as liberal. This was evident from the start, and now the data confirms it: targeted agencies overwhelmingly those seen as more left-leaning. 🧵⬇️

submitted 8 days ago • 258 comments

🏛️ DC area followers - don't miss this book talk at GWU, 2.27.25 📖 Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption @jheathershaw.bsky.social, @tenaprelec.bsky.social & Tom Mayne. Mod. @szakonyi.bsky.social calendar.gwu.edu/event/indulg...

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

The failure of sanctions against Russia's oligarch class, in one graph One year after the invasion of Ukraine, net worth (as measured by Forbes) of Russian billionaires had mostly recovered

submitted 16 days ago • 2 comments

Great story revealing German prosecutors’ investigation of Roman Abramovich Very encouraging that sanctions and anti-corruption enforcement not dead in the water worldwide.

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

For years, the US has led the pack on the investigation and enforcement of foreign bribery. Wednesday’s memo by AG Pam Bondi shifting DoJ focus away from cases that aren’t linked to drug cartels puts that in jeopardy. 📊 From @anticorruption.bsky.social's 2022 Exporting Corruption report.

submitted 21 days ago • 2 comments

Seems like a good time to re-up a piece of mine from December where I argue that American oligarchs won't nearly be as constrained as their counterparts in 1990s Russia www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/13/a...

submitted 23 days ago • 1 comment

Case studies from around the world have shown sovereign wealth funds to be highly susceptible to corruption, including embezzlement, fraud, and political exploitation. As @szakonyi.bsky.social recently wrote, data disclosure is critical for mitigating risks. acdatacollective.org/blog/a-veil-...

submitted 24 days ago • 1 comment

Having watched with growing alarm the developments of the last 24 and 36 hours in Washington, I thought I’d take a stab at how the US media would cover this story if it was happening in a foreign country. Here’s that story that should be written this weekend: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/musk-s-jun...

submitted 27 days ago • 363 comments

Welcome, @ponarseurasia.bsky.social!

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

A marquee anti-corruption law stays in place, for now

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Oligarchs fighting each other - rather than aligning - can be a second-best outcome in fight to preserve democracy (ex. Ukraine and other post communist countries) A divided economic elite makes it hard to assert a monopoly on political power www.axios.com/2025/01/22/s...

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

It is safe to say we will need more not less anti-corruption research and work in the next few years. Follow us (@acdatacollective.bsky.social) and get in touch for potential collaborations/leads.

submitted 38 days ago • 1 comment

Crypto exchanges: ‘We’re about freedom and disruption!’ Also crypto exchanges: ‘Please don’t sue us, President Trump. We'll list your meme coin.’

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

If your company's CEO does a Nazi salute, then you work for a Nazi company. Quit your jobs www.ft.com/content/f2ba...

submitted 38 days ago • 3 comments

Now seems like a good time to strengthen networks of media, civil society and academics standing up to corruption and kleptocracy. Contact ACDC to see how our data and analysis can enhance the impact of you and your partners. acdatacollective.org/work-with-us/

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

🤦‍♂️ Harvard hired Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with ties to several of President-elect Donald Trump’s top advisers, last week as it prepares for additional political challenges under a more aggressive White House, according to federal lobbying disclosures. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

submitted 44 days ago • 0 comments

One of the best windows into how the Russian government operates (and money changes hands) has been slammed shut

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

Many congratulations to ACDC Executive Committee member @mairamartini.bsky.social on her well-deserved appointment as CEO of @anticorruption.bsky.social!

submitted 51 days ago • 0 comments

New analysis here by @occrp.org and @transparencyuk.bsky.social on overseas companies used by Azerbaijan's ruling to hold interests in UK property. We found the familiar problem of trusts hiding full information on those behind their multi-million pound property empire. www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

submitted 70 days ago • 1 comment

Perhaps the most informative, life-changing article I've read this year chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/63-chinese...

submitted 71 days ago • 0 comments

We at @acdatacollective.bsky.social have a new piece at @giace.bsky.social arguing for more collaboration between academics and journalists Leaked datasets offer so much potential for holding kleptocrats accountable. We’re trying to get that data shared more widely giace.org/academics-ar...

submitted 71 days ago • 2 comments

📢🚨New GI-ACE blog by Michael Hornsby and David Szakonyi explores how cross-sector collaborations—bringing together journalists, academics, and civil society—can amplify efforts to uncover kleptocracy and money laundering. 🔗Read the blog bit.ly/3BCTE5B 🔗 Explore their research project bit.ly/3P1GfHh

submitted 72 days ago • 0 comments

We need to stop calling Musk, Thiel, and others "megadonors" and use a more proper word: * Oligarchs * Here's are my thoughts about how America's new oligarchs compare to their famous Russian counterparts from the 1990s @themoscowtimes.com www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/13/a...

submitted 76 days ago • 0 comments

We need to stop calling Musk, Thiel, and others "megadonors" and use a more proper word: * Oligarchs * Here's are my thoughts about how America's new oligarchs compare to their famous Russian counterparts from the 1990s @themoscowtimes.com www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/13/a...

submitted 76 days ago • 0 comments

This from TI might be the most important message you'll hear this International Anti-Corruption Day. Our recent report with TI raised the alarm about corruption risks at climate talks like #COP29. Unfortunately, many of those risks became realities. acdatacollective.org/blog/from-ri... #IACD2024

submitted 81 days ago • 0 comments

University of Oslo is hiring 2-4(!) Associate Professors in Political Science. The call is open to candidates from all subfields. Deadline is February 3rd. It comes with amazing colleagues, great work conditions, and lots of snow. Brown cheese, salmon, and cross-country skis can be supplementary.

submitted 83 days ago • 5 comments

"The [CTA] is clearly constitutional and Congress was well within its powers to pass the law to defend America and protect our financial borders.” Well said, @ianpgary.bsky.social 👏 Anonymity is not a feature of corporate formation. It poses multiple threats to ordinary people & businesses.

submitted 85 days ago • 0 comments

We @openownership.bsky.social are recruiting a new International Advisory Board. If you would like to join us to shape and deliver our new strategy (and be my boss), please get in touch. www.openownership.org/en/blog/open...

submitted 85 days ago • 0 comments

Impressive insider access that shows how difficult investigating these money laundering schemes are

submitted 85 days ago • 0 comments

Hi all! I put together a starter pack featuring scholars of Russian politics. Feel free to comment if you'd like to be included, and don’t forget to share! go.bsky.app/JwWasmi

submitted 94 days ago • 1 comment

using ChatGPT to clean some recent Russian election data and very relieved to see that it does not recognize the illegally occupied territories as Russian

submitted 94 days ago • 0 comments

This episode by Planet Money, on fraud in land transactions in the US, highlights major flaws in the US's "Geographic Targeting Order" program aimed at collecting beneficial ownership information on property purchases www.npr.org/2024/11/22/1...

submitted 94 days ago • 1 comment

Lots of discussion here and elsewhere about the weight that (would-be) autocrats place on loyalty vs. competence. So, yeah, but there’s so much more to say. @szakonyi.bsky.social has a nice discussion in this Oxford Handbook chapter on authoritarian bureaucracy, just coming online.

submitted 95 days ago • 1 comment

I see that everyone is doing “starter packs,” but I’m still an old-school list guy. So, here is the Blueskified version of my world-famous Anglophone Russia Twitter list. As always, drop me a line if you think I’ve left someone off (though I probably did it on purpose). bsky.app/profile/did:...

submitted 111 days ago • 0 comments