Steve Witkoff: The Continuity of a System Built on russian Money
When Bloomberg broke the news this week about a phone call made on October 14th between Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s “special envoy,” and Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s top foreign-policy adviser, I, unfortunately was not surprised.
About 20 minutes before the leaked transcript, of the call was made public, where Witkoff—the man representing the United States—was advising the Kremlin on how to persuade Donald Trump, I had published a long deep dive thread on X I’d been working on for a while.
It was about who Steve Witkoff really is— about his background and many russian connections.
Witkoff has spent three decades swimming in russian money, russian mob circles, and the russian real-estate pipeline.
In fact; it’s what his career is built on. It’s not through politics & diplomatic relations, it’s through a business that has been Russias main way of exploiting their connections and creating a network in the U.S.
And his background has never been a secret, it’s all well documented, through archived articles, interviews, business reports and partnerships, it’s all there, and when put together is gives us a very clear image of exactly who Steve Witkoff is, and how his position as a “special envoy” to Russia is incredibly concerning.
It’s not accidental, it’s intent.
The narrative that Steve Witkoff is simply a “useful idiot” is not only wrong — it’s dangerously convenient.
It gives him an excuse. It frames his choices as accidental.
But nothing about his behavior and his approach of this new role, is accidental.
Witkoff’s worldview was shaped inside a network built on russian capital, russian mob pipelines, and post-Soviet financial structures that flooded New York real estate in the 1990s. His actions today are not a departure from that world.
They are a continuation of it.
A Man Formed in a System of Post-Soviet Money
Witkoff is not just “a MAGA guy” brought in to shape Trump’s Russia–Ukraine policy.
He is:
• Of Russian descent,
• A beneficiary of the post-Soviet real-estate gold rush,
• A businessman who thrived in an industry the FBI warned for decades was infiltrated by russian criminal networks
..and now, he is the architect of a “peace plan” that mirrors the Kremlin’s foreign-policy demands point by point.
This is not coincidence.
It is continuity.
The 1990s: When Manhattan Became the Kremlin’s Laundromat
When the Soviet Union collapsed, billions of dollars from russian criminal networks and oligarchs fled the country — and Manhattan’s luxury real-estate market became the primary laundromat.
The FBI testified to Congress about this era. Investigations, financial records, and open testimony all confirm it.
And who rose to prominence in that exact industry at that exact moment?
Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff.
This isn’t speculation. It’s documented history.
Trump built his empire by selling condos — often in cash — to shell companies, mobsters, arms dealers, and businessmen tied to russian organized crime, including networks linked to Semion Mogilevich.
Witkoff, meanwhile, became a major player in the commercial side of the same ecosystem.
While Trump moved apartments bought with suitcases of cash, Witkoff acquired office buildings through opaque partnerships and distressed deals that mirrored the structures used by post-Soviet capital seeking anonymity.
Two men, two branches of the same pipeline, gaining wealth and influence from the same influx of russian money.
Fast-Forward to 2024–25: The Pipeline Reappears in U.S. Foreign Policy
Today, Witkoff is Trump’s point man on Russia–Ukraine — a role for which he has:
• no diplomatic experience,
• no Ukraine expertise,
• no background in international negotiations,
but what he do have is;
• A very large network of russian partners, financiers, and ideological allies.
He is also a man who has, for years, publicly echoed Kremlin narratives.
So the sudden emergence of a U.S. “peace plan” that looks identical to Moscow’s wish list is not surprising.
History didn’t repeat — it simply continued.
Déjà Vu: This All Happened Before
In 2016, Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with Konstantin Kilimnik, a known russian intelligence asset, to discuss a “peace plan” for Ukraine that:
• legitimized russia’s invasion,
• installed a Moscow-approved leader,
• lifted sanctions, and
• forced Ukraine to negotiate from a position of weakness.
The plan was a geopolitical Trojan horse.
Manafort was later charged and convicted — until Trump pardoned him.
And it’s when we look at the details of this plan that we also see how the role Witkoff now play, was already planned out and established by russia, during Trumps first time around.
The role that failed in 2016, has now successfully taken the main stage; by Steve Witkoff.
Trump today claims the war “would never have started if he were president,” ignoring the fact that russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, while he loudly entertained the same Kremlin talking points.
He has heard iterations of a russian “peace plan” for nearly a decade.
The 2024–25 “Peace Plan” — Same Script, New Messenger
Today we have a new version of that same plan, delivered by Witkoff:
same demands, same distortions, same goals for Moscow.
And now, thanks to the leaked transcript, we know Witkoff spoke directly with Putin’s adviser about how to coordinate on this plan and how Putin could pitch it to Trump.
That is not diplomacy.
That is alignment.
Witkoff’s Policy Positions Are Not Neutral — They Are the Kremlin’s
Witkoff has repeatedly advocated for policies that overwhelmingly benefit russia:
• “Stop aid to Ukraine.”
• “Freeze the lines.”
• “Let russia keep what it stole.”
• “Force Ukraine to negotiate.”
• “Appease Putin to end the war.”
These are not independent ideas.
These are the explicit foreign-policy objectives of the Kremlin.
And his public statements back it up.
In 2018, Witkoff criticized sanctions imposed after russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea:
“I never understood the Russian sanctions, candidly, because all it did was stop Russian investment into this country.”
To him, the crime was not the invasion of Crimea —but the interruption of russian money flowing into Manhattan real estate.
The Pattern of Omission
Witkoff never mentions:
• russian war crimes,
• the mass deportations of Ukrainian children,
• the missile strikes on civilians,
• nuclear threats,
• or russia’s documented genocidal intent.
His silence is not accidental.
It serves a purpose: To whitewash russia’s crimes and shift blame onto Ukraine.
Business, Politics, and the Kremlin’s Leverage
And many say; “Witkoff & Trump are business men” it’s how they work. And “they want a deal.”
And that’s of course partially true.
Except, it ignores that their main deals with Russia was done long ago, many times, and now, Witkoff and Trump are doing their part of those deals:
- Appease Moscow.
- Pressure Ukraine.
- Undermine sanctions.
- Force a deal.
- Declare it “peace.”
This is the same world Manafort monetized, Trump depended on, and russian intelligence used as cover for access and influence.
Neither Trump, nor Witkoff left that world.
He brought it into the White House.
And now the “Special envoy” operate without scrutiny because he’s framed as a “businessman” instead of what he actually is:
A geopolitical actor with active ties to the aggressor state.
Why Are These Worlds Allowed to Mix?
Steve Witkoff — a man whose money, partners, and network are heavily linked to russia — now influences:
• U.S. posture toward russia,
• U.S. response to war crimes,
• the direction of NATO policy,
• and Ukraine’s, as well as Europes, future security.
That should never be allowed.
But it’s happening — off the books, behind closed doors, without neither Ukraine nor Europe present.
The Pattern That Refuses to Go Away
Look at the historical continuum:
1990s: russian capital floods NYC real estate → Trump & Witkoff thrive.
2016: Manafort & Kilimnik → first Kremlin “peace plan.”
2017–2019: Trump & Putin private meetings → concessions unknown.
2024: Witkoff reemerges as Trump’s link to Moscow.
2025: A new Kremlin-designed “peace plan” appears.
This is not coincidence.
It is repetition — an operational pattern.
Agents vs Assets
The so-called “russia hoax” was never a hoax.
It was misunderstood.
It was presented as “election fraud” and interference.
When in reality what it shows, is truly worse than that.
It’s about influence, access, and networks built over decades.
Are they russian agents?
Probably not.
Are they russian assets?
Most certainly.
They are men whose worldview, finances, and professional ascent were shaped inside a system russia deliberately penetrated.
The Real Question
The question isn’t:
“Is Steve Witkoff compromised?”
The question is:
Why is U.S. policy toward russia being shaped by a man whose entire career was built inside the one American industry russia spent decades infiltrating?
And why is there so much effort — from media, from political actors, from Trump’s circle — to ignore, downplay, or dismiss these connections?
Because once you see the pattern clearly, it becomes impossible to unsee.
Further reading/findings:
• From the rubble: How NYC real estate lived 9/11
• Steve Witkoff’s Nine Lives: Tough Guys Don’t Fold-They Crawl Back From the Abyss
• Witkoff, Blavatnik land $1B High Line refi
• P.R. Firm for Putin’s Russia Now Walking a Fine Line
• Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show
• G.O.P.-Led Senate Panel Details Ties Between 2016 Trump Campaign and Russia
• Manafort offered to give Russian billionaire ‘private briefings’ on 2016 campaign
• Another Trump adviser with deep ties to Russia
• Donald Trump’s New York Real Estate Friends Love His Tax Bill—It Will Make Them Even Richer
• A history of Donald Trump’s business dealings in Russia
• Lorber, Witkoff launch $250M SPAC
• Trump lawyer in Russia probes has Russian ties of his own
• C.E.O. of Real Estate Giant Douglas Elliman Retires Amid Mounting Criticism
• Steve Witkoff on the Park Lane, his friendship with POTUS & more | TRD Studios
• Steve Witkoff revealed as “friend” of indicted Russian mobster
• White House debates lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets, Nord Stream
• Special Report: Russian elites buying up Trump properties
• US Has New Intel That Manafort Friend Kilimnik Gave Trump Campaign Data to Russia
Ine in Ukraine 