AN X-RAY OF "PUTIN'S BRAIN" ⟩ Aleksandr Dugin and His Ideology of Chaos

14th December 2024, 19:43

If you haven’t heard of Aleksandr Dugin, consider yourself lucky — or perhaps blissfully unaware of one of the most dangerous ideologues of our time.

Imagine a mix of a conspiracy theorist, a mystic, and a wannabe Machiavelli, and you’ll have a good sense of who this man is. Known to some as "Putin’s Brain," Dugin’s ideology of Eurasianism revolves around Russian exceptionalism, authoritarianism, and expansionism—principles that are currently playing out in countries like Ukraine and Georgia.

Dugin’s rise as an “intellectual” began in the 1980s, as he dabbled in occultism and ultra-nationalist circles. By the 1990s, he had transformed himself into a geopolitical theorist, blending Eurasianism, traditionalism, and some apocalyptic visions for good measure.

Dugin’s big break came in 1997 with Foundations of Geopolitics, a book that reads like a blueprint for undermining the West. It’s like a Bond villain’s manifesto: destabilize Europe, weaken NATO, and create a Russian-led empire stretching from Vladivostok to Lisbon. Think of it as "How to Ruin Democracy for Dummies," except it’s required reading for Russia’s military elites.

Dugin lays out a vision of a Eurasian empire led by Russia, extending its influence over former Soviet territories and beyond. The book is essentially a manual for hybrid warfare—think propaganda, economic pressure, cyberattacks, and fostering divisions within Western countries. He doesn’t suggest marching tanks across borders (at least not initially). Instead, he advocates for a “divide and conquer” approach, exploiting cultural, political, and social fault lines to weaken Western unity. For someone who likely spent his youth playing Risk [a popular strategy board game of global domination], Dugin’s ideas have had a surprisingly real-world impact.

Russian fascist ideologist Aleksandr Dugin has been involved in the plan to seize Donbas since 2014, when he actively campaigned to justify the occupation of eastern Ukraine. Photo: Moscow News Agency/Reuters/Scanpix

Dugin frames Russia’s confrontation with the West as an existential battle between a decadent, liberal order and a traditional, spiritual civilization led by—you guessed it—Russia. According to him, the West is a cultural black hole, sucking the soul out of humanity with its individualism and progressive values. Meanwhile, Russia, in Dugin’s imagination, is the savior of humanity, destined to lead a multipolar world where might makes right. He has even called for a “holy war” against liberalism.

Subtle, isn’t it?

Let’s look at some of the predictions from this “Eurasian Nostradamus.” First, he called for the destabilization of the United States by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today, and you’ve got culture wars, conspiracy theories, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.

Now onto Europe: Dugin envisioned a fractured EU, riddled with internal disputes and nationalism. Cue Brexit, rising far-right movements, and debates over which pro-Russian EU party is the bigger thorn in Brussels’ side. It’s almost as if Dugin has a crystal ball—or maybe just a really good understanding of how to exploit human weaknesses.

Some of Dugin’s wildest fantasies, including invasions, occupations, and ethnic cleansings, are playing out right before our eyes in Ukraine and Georgia. However, the final outcome is yet to be determined.

As might be expected, our self-styled wizard with a PhD has plenty of opinions on the Baltic states and fantasizes about erasing their independence, as it stands in the way of his “Eurasian Empire” dreams.

Estonia, with its tech-savvy governance, represents everything Dugin loathes about modernity and Western alignment. Latvia, with its vibrant culture and steadfast NATO membership, is a thorn in his dream of Russian hegemony. Lithuania, with its bold support for Ukraine and defiance of authoritarianism, serves as a reminder that nations he views as insignificant can, in fact, have powerful voices.

Dugin’s hyperfixation isn’t just philosophical but personal too: he sees the Baltics as traitors to the idea of Russian greatness. However, we’re all here to remind him that this so-called greatness exists only in his imagination.

Russian investigators working at the scene of a car explosion on Mozhaisk highway near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemi in the Odintsovo urban district in Moscow region, Russia. In the evening of 20 August, 2022, a Toyota Land Cruiser car blew up when the car was moving at full speed on a highway, and then burned. The driver, journalist and political scientist Darya Dugina, the daughter of the philosopher Alexander Dugin, died on the spot. Photo: EPA

For any sane reader, Dugin’s ideas are absurd and, in a way, tragically comical, but it’s safe to say that sane people are not his target audience. The threat Dugin poses to the West lies not in his personal influence but in his ideas’ ability to infiltrate and radicalize. His calls for chaos and destabilization resonate with radicals, extremist groups, and authoritarian leaders who see liberal democracy as their main enemy.

When you see Western politicians parroting anti-globalist rhetoric or flirting with authoritarianism, you can bet Dugin is smiling somewhere, stroking his beard like a satisfied villain in a James Bond movie.

For many nations, especially Ukrainians, Dugin’s psychotic ramblings are not just academic curiosities but existential threats. His disdain for Ukraine’s sovereignty is well-documented. Dugin doesn’t see Ukraine as a nation but as a wayward province of Russia—a place that must be brought back into its sphere of influence, no matter the cost.

It’s worth mentioning one of his quotes from a VK post: “Today’s Ukrainians are a race of degenerates that crawled up from the sewage. Genocide is in order.” Monitoring his social media activity, you’ll also find that he views each new Russian war crime as a cause for celebration, akin to Christmas.

And then there’s his family. Dugin’s daughter, Darya Dugina, followed in her father’s footsteps as a far-right ideologist and media figure. She was deeply involved in spreading Russian propaganda, enthusiastically supporting Russia’s invasions, and passionately parroting her father’s theories. She died in a car bomb explosion in 2022, allegedly targeted by those opposing her father’s influence.

Aleksandr Dugin, centre, speaks with a priest during the final farewell ceremony for his daughter Daria Dugina in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. Photo: Dmitry Serebryakov/AP

Moscow, predictably, quickly blamed Ukraine, though the truth—like most things involving Russian propaganda—remains murky. Later, the Russian FSB tried to pin the blame on Estonia as well, accusing the Baltic state of “harboring Dugina’s Ukrainian assassin,” without offering any proof or basis other than the usual “Russophobia” narrative. Regardless, her death highlighted the personal risks of aligning too closely with the Kremlin’s ideological machinery.

So why should anyone in the West care about this bearded philosopher and wannabe Rasputin with a grudge? Because Dugin isn’t just spouting nonsense into the void. His ideas have been weaponized by the Kremlin to justify everything from annexing Crimea to meddling in Western elections. And, unfortunately, it’s actually working—most notably, in April 2024, Dugin was given the chance to share his worldview with none other than former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Aleksandr Dugin may fancy himself the architect of a new world order, but here’s some irony for you: his ideas only hold power if we let them. And frankly, we’ve got better things to do—like building a future where his dystopian fantasies remain just that: fantasies.