Trump and Russia: Nearly 40 Years of Connections Donald Trump’s connections to Russia did not begin with his presidency. They stretch back almost four decades - from Soviet Moscow and Russian money to Trump Tower Moscow, the 2016 campaign, Vladimir Putin, and now Trump’s own family. Here is the documented timeline: * 1987: Trump visits Moscow at the invitation of Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin and explores building a luxury hotel in partnership with Soviet authorities. Shortly after returning, Trump takes out full-page newspaper ads criticizing U.S. foreign policy and arguing that America’s allies should pay more for their own defense. * 1996: Trump again pursues plans for a Trump-branded development in Moscow. It is one of several attempts over decades to establish a major Trump property in Russia. * 2005: The Trump Organization works with Bayrock Group and Soviet-born businessman Felix Sater to pursue another Trump Tower Moscow project. Sater would remain involved in Trump’s attempts to do business in Russia for years. * 2006: Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump travel to Moscow while the Trump Organization explores Russian real-estate opportunities. * 2008: Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev buys Trump’s Palm Beach mansion for $95 million. Trump had purchased it for about $41 million four years earlier. The transaction generated scrutiny because of the enormous increase in price. * 2008: Donald Trump Jr. tells a real-estate conference that Russians make up a “pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” adding: “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.” * 2000s–2010s: A Reuters investigation later identifies at least 63 people with Russian passports or addresses who purchased $98.4 million of property in seven Trump-branded luxury developments in South Florida. * 2013: Trump takes the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in partnership with Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov and his son Emin. Trump personally invites Vladimir Putin to attend. * 2015: Trump signs a letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow—this time while running for president of the United States. * January 2016: Trump lawyer Michael Cohen contacts the office of Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov seeking Russian government assistance with the Moscow project. Negotiations continue for months while Trump is publicly campaigning for president. * June 2016: Donald Trump Jr. receives an offer of damaging information about Hillary Clinton described in an email as part of “Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump.” * 2016: Manafort shares internal Trump campaign polling and strategy with Konstantin Kilimnik who was later discovered to be a Russian intelligence officer. * 2018: Standing beside Putin in Helsinki, Trump publicly casts doubt on the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and points to Putin’s “extremely strong and powerful” denial. * 2019: Robert Mueller concludes that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in “sweeping and systematic fashion.” His investigation documents numerous contacts between Trump associates and Russian-linked individuals. * 2025: former Soviet intelligence official Alnur Mussayev made an explosive allegation that Trump was formally recruited by KGB in 1987 and given the codename “Krasnov.” * 2025: Trump’s Treasury Department removes former Sberbank executive Alexandra Buriko from the sanctions list. Treasury said she had separated from Sberbank and no longer met the criteria for sanctions, describing the decision as part of its normal reconsideration process. * 2026: The Treasury Department removes former Russian finance minister and banking executive Mikhail Zadornov from the U.S. sanctions list. * 2026: And now we learn that Putin-linked Russian businessman Umar Kremlev financed Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas. Trump Jr. and his wife confirm that Kremlev paid for the celebrations and describe it as an extraordinarily generous gift from a friend.