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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social

In 2002’s “The Sum of All Fears,” Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) used the “hotline” (depicted, prematurely, as a chat-based computer platform) to convince Russia’s president (Ciarán Hinds) that a neo-Nazi billionaire is secretly manipulating him and the US president into fighting a nuclear war.

aug 30, 2025, 3:06 pm • 8 1

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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social

In 2020 and 2021, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs commemorated the anniversary with a tweet (although its graphic misstated the year the “hotline” was converted into an email platform). However, it was noticeably silent on the subject in 2022, 2023, 2024, and again this year.

A screenst of an August 30, 2021, tweet from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
aug 30, 2025, 3:06 pm • 9 4 • view
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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social

For more on the history of—and evolving technology behind—the Washington-Moscow Direct Communication Link, see this fact sheet from the online Crypto Museum: www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/hotli...

Screenshot of the linked website from the Crypto Museum,
aug 30, 2025, 3:06 pm • 12 1 • view
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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social

And see also: www.electrospaces.net/2012/10/the-...

Screenshot of the linked website at electrospaces.net,
aug 30, 2025, 3:06 pm • 10 1 • view