A horrified Donny sits on a US weapons box next to a dismayed Vladdy in the once ultra-modern Donetsk International Airport in Eastern Ukraine. Donny denounces terrorism of all kinds. Putin admonishes Donny’s lack of sensitivity to international matters. Donny disagrees, explaining he is “best friends” with the leaders of every major country... Learn More

(Circa 1945: Russian flying aces raise the Ameican Flag on Victory Day in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.) Given the endless anti-Russian tirades in the media about Russian election manipulation and Russian collusion, it’s hard to imagine they sacrificed over 30 million citizens and soldiers while having our back against Hilter’s ground advances. Imagine a... Learn More

Vladdy is fascinated by America’s historical ability to blend creativity and capitalism to maintain a robust economy. His goal is simple: to determine what Google innovations could apply to Russia’s brand of Social Democracy. Donny decides the best way to demonstrate American creative exceptionalism is to sit a holographic rowboat in a Google... Learn More

It’s Friday, January 31, 1975. I’m a hot-shot young senior manager for the Blueblood Madison Avenue Agency, Young & Rubicam, and just back from a V.I.P. trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to visit the banana plantations of our newest client, Chiquita brand bananas. I’m having my first meeting with Eli M. Black, the... Learn More

(Circa 1943: Russian Zebra Commander Maxim Chibisov’s US Navy identification card.) In 1943, a decorated Russian commander arrived in America under cover of night to lead 300 fellow Soviet aces on a “once-in-lifetime” mission that had no blueprints. America had built 185 state-of-the-art amphibious warplanes that no Russian had ever seen, much... Learn More

Vladdy proudly invites Donny to visit Russia Today’s news headquarters in the heart of Moscow’s financial district. Both men realize they love the use of technology to broadcast “honest news” instead of fake news. They also try to convince each other they are strong advocates of Freedom of the Press, although Donny mentions... Learn More

(Circa 1944. Russian and American pilots take a break from the war on a hill near Project Zebra headquarters in Elizabeth City.) Harry Truman refused to let the story of Project Zebra become public. He detested Stalin and everything Russian. But a young U.S. Navy Lieutenant by the name of Gregory Gargarin (second... Learn More

I was on the way back from a business lunch at Sal Anthony’s Restaurant near Irving Place and 14th Street. As a grizzled New Yorker, I knew the fastest way back to my office at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations was to hail a cab and head northbound on... Learn More

(circa 1944: Russian and American pilots take a break from the war at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.) Russians have been fascinated with flight since the Wright Brothers first took to the skies. In fact, the first Russian flyer, built in 1912, was based on Wright Brother designs By the 1930s, Russian obsession with flight... Learn More

Donny and Vladdy Putin hold their first get-to-know-you meeting at a private breakfast in the Kremlin grand dining room, insulated from family, friends, advisors, and the media. It becomes quickly apparently both men share commonalities: their love of opulent rooms with lots of gold décor and indulgent foods like smoked whitefish and... Learn More