# Trump was recruited as Russian spy codenamed "Krasnov" in 1987 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 23, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697 "2025-02-23T16:31:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/21 "2025-02-24T15:25:37Z")
Assets aren’t always used for the big score. In fact, it’s rare AFAIK. Small bits of information, favors done, etc. is more the action. They don’t want the asset to become known by fucking up some big operation. It’s a long game they’re playing. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/22 "2025-02-24T15:48:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Assets aren’t always used for the big score. The score they may be most concerned with is the number of assets the recruiter can, with barest plausibility, report back to Moscow. The equivalent on our side could be the [ICE daily arrest quota](https://gothamist.com/news/ny-nj-immigration-enforcement-offices-now-have-quotas-its-75-arrests-a-day-or-else-report-says). It doesn’t matter if the arrested person is really a criminal – all that matters is making your numbers. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/23 "2025-02-24T16:02:06Z")
SHould have called him Pakled instead. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/24 "2025-02-24T16:05:23Z")
As I said on the BBQ Clusterfuck thread he is way beyond the release of any kompromat. Putin himself could confirm it and add more evidence yet in Impeachment 3 that will be played off as Russia meddling in America, which of course they are on the record for never doing. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/25 "2025-02-24T16:06:21Z")
Would the Soviet KGB really name an asset after an infamous anti-Communist and Nazi collaborator? > **[Pyotr Krasnov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Krasnov)** > > Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov (Russian: Пётр Николаевич Краснов; 22 September \[O.S. 10 September\] 1869 – 17 January 1947), also known as Peter Krasnov, was a Russian military leader, writer and later Nazi collaborator. > Krasnov served as a lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and later led anti-Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War, where he served as the ataman of the Don Republic. Approximately 25,000 to 40,000 people were executed by Krasnov's White Cossacks,... If nothing else, it would be a bit of a jinx, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/26 "2025-02-24T16:13:38Z")
Seriously? What are they gonna call him Pyotr I Alekseyevich (aka “Peter the Great”) or Kuznetsov, one of the greatest field Marshall’s anywhere, anytime? Call him Rommel, then. Or Catherine the Great. In 1987 he was still well known as a serial bankruptcty-type-guy and slum-lord. I think his reasons for going to the Soviet Union was something about the beauty pageants? Something a Huge Trustable & Respected Real Estate Developer from the Great State of New York would not be called for. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/27 "2025-02-24T16:20:02Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > I think his reasons for going to the Soviet Union was something about the beauty pageants? Also known as the honey pot ploy. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/28 "2025-02-24T16:29:37Z")
Given his slovenly appearance and weird irrational hypnotic hold on people, Rasputin might have fit him better. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/29 "2025-02-24T17:16:12Z")
It also translates as beauty or red. Red is close to orange! And Beauty fits with the pageants. Red Square was originally called Beautiful Square but got renamed after a new set of red paving stones were laid down. The Russians decided to keep the name, but change the meaning of the word. Saved a fortune by not having to replace the signs or update all the maps. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/30 "2025-02-24T17:40:52Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > A former KGB officer claims that Trump was recruited as a Russian spy in 1987 during his visit to the Soviet Union. His code name was “Krasnov.” To be clear: a Facebook post by someone claiming to be a former KGB officer claims that Trump was recruited as a Russian spy in 1987. _The Economic Times_ calls the whole thing “alleged” and _the Daily Beast_, which evidently first broke the story, ended up deleting it. > **[It's a Spy novel starring Donald Krasnov](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/22/2305510/-It-s-a-Spy-novel-starring-Donald-Krasnov)** > > It started with Alnur Mussayev putting a post up on Facebook about Donald Trump being groomed as a Russian asset in 1987. The story took off like wildfire on social media and around the rest of the world news media, but not in the United States.... ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/31 "2025-02-24T17:52:33Z")
That’s got more credibility than 95% of the MAGA/Q/Trump admin posts combined! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/32 "2025-02-24T18:29:33Z")
I’ve tried checking a few of the KGB archives for the word “Krasnov” and not found anything. That said, I’m not confident that they’ve all been properly digitized and made available to internet search so I wouldn’t say that I’ve ruled it out. Mitrokhin probably only has files preceding 1985 and is probably the only Russian source (everything else is a local repository from one of the break-off countries of the USSR), so it’s unlikely that there would be anything to be found. But, if anyone has physical access to one of these, it might be worth a visit. A reference to a Krasnov, in a document preceding 1987, would largely invalidate the story. It would have to be someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/33 "2025-02-24T19:13:03Z")
Assets often don’t realise they are assets, or they think they’re working for somebody entirely different. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/34 "2025-02-24T19:54:20Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > To be clear: a Facebook post by someone claiming to be a former KGB officer claims that Trump was recruited as a Russian spy in 1987. Yeah, this. I’d need something more substantial before I trust the story. 26 women separately made claims that he assaulted them, and he boasted about grabbing them by the pussy. That is pretty substantial evidence that he is a predator. He was caught with stolen classified documents in his house, that’s substantial proof that he stole and kept classified documents, unsecurely. He admitted actions that constitute business fraud, but claimed the banks should have done more checking, that is substantial proof that he committed business fraud. Somebody on the internet says he’s a spy, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/35 "2025-02-25T02:35:39Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > he’s a spy, not so much. An asset. Not always spying. Trump can’t even use a regular camera. He totally sucks at hiding secret documents. And cheats at golf. Six or whatever years ago when he met Putin and both declared, essentially, “No Russian meddling in the election” (despite CIA and FBI saying otherwise) and the unspoken suggestion that “these were not the droids we were looking for” showed who is master and servant. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/36 "2025-02-25T12:20:30Z")
I remember when trump said, of Putin, “I don’t know why he would”. Sometime later he corrected himself, and said, “I don’t know why he _wouldn’t_”. Anybody remember the “correction”? I don’t think it even got explored a little by the media. Of course, as always, no follow up. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/37 "2025-02-25T12:27:10Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > An asset Correction accepted. It’s still a dubious story told by an anonymous person on the internet. Not going to accept it without some supporting evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/38 "2025-02-25T12:41:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Assets aren’t always used for the big score. In fact, it’s rare AFAIK. Small bits of information, favors done, etc. is more the action. And introductions. Remember all those photos of Trump hanging out with important people, like the Clintons? He was famously at that White House Correspondents dinner with Obama. He was in a position to introduce “friends” to lots of people that would be very difficult for regular folks to ever meet. This alone would be worth getting your hooks into him, if the opportunity presented itself. And he’d be completely on-board with this, as it feeds his personality defects. “I’m so popular that even the Russians want to hang out with me, and meet all my important friends!” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/39 "2025-02-25T12:51:25Z")
Is anyone else getting serious flashbacks to 2012 and the endless “is Ulfric Stormcloak a Thalmor asset” discussion about Skyrim? Life imitates art I suppose! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697/40 "2025-02-25T13:42:08Z")
I don’t find the ‘Krasnov’ story plausible, but it’s not necessary for the story to be true to believe that there is something very fishy going on between trump and Russia. Russia ‘loans’ trump a lot of money at a time when he needs it very much and no American bank would have anything to do with him. Does anybody think that trump ever paid those ‘loans’ back, with plenty of interest? Or I should say, paid back with _money_? Putin is a murderous dictator who has killed enemies and detractors inside and outside of Russia, often in very public ways. Payback is what Putin is all about, one way or another. The money Russia gave trump was no favor. trump in his first term started meeting with Putin with only translators present, and demanded his translators’ silence on what was spoken. After that he started meeting with Putin alone, with only Putin’s translators, something that would be unthinkable in previous administrations. trump has spoken well of Putin, and supported Putin and Russian interests at every turn; a very stark, bizarro, ‘white is black’ 180 degree reversal of Republican beliefs and policy going back many decades. If it looks like a rat, and scurries and squeaks like a rat… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-was-recruited-as-russian-spy-codenamed-krasnov-in-1987/1014697.md?page=3)