‘Putin’s Rasputin’ Russian leader may be influenced by fascist and ‘deranged’ philosopher
Putin ‘recreating Russia like Catherine The Great’ says expert
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The Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine continues to rage with Russian forces having today attacked rail and fuel facilities in central and western regions of the country. According to the head of the state-run Ukrainian Railways Oleksandr Kamyshin, five train stations were hit by Russian strikes within the same hour, with an unknown number of casualties reported. Russia also destroyed an oil refinery and fuel depots in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, according to the Russian defence ministry.
Putin has been condemned across the West for his invasion, while Russian troops have been accused of war crimes.
While the exact motivation for Putin’s invasion is not entirely clear, some thinkers have claimed that the unprovoked attack may have been inspired by the writings of the Russian philosopher and neo-Nazi mystic, Aleksandr Dugin.
Dugin, who is frequently referred to as “Putin’s brain” and “Putin’s Rasputin”, has long called for an invasion of Ukraine, and believes that Moscow has the right to rule over all of Europe and Asia.
In the Nineties, as Putin was rising through the ranks of Russia’s political elite, Dugin had a deep influence on Russia’s geopolitics.
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While he is thought to have become a marginal figure in the present-day, critics suggest that his influence could be on the rise.
In reference to Dugin, author and blogger Christopher Laine warned in 2020 that “while world democracies squabble, Putin and his deranged philosopher are plotting to bring about an autocratic world order.”
Writing for the website Intelligence Challenged, Mr Laine said: “It’s anyone’s guess how much of this fascist propaganda is being taken seriously by Putin.
“One can say whatever they like about Putin, he is assuredly shrewd.
“He is shrewd enough to see Dugin as a useful but ultimately disposable pawn to use for his advantage.
“That said, much of what we see today from Russia runs parallel to what Dugin was proposing in ‘The Foundation of Geopolitics’.
“Interference in democratic nations, disruption of their systems and helping to spur on sectarian and racial animosity.”
Dugin’s 1997 book ‘The Foundations of Geopolitics’, sets out an ultranationalist and neo-fascist ideology.
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He claims that the world is made up of “land powers” and “sea powers” and that as the great land nation Russia should exert an influence on all Asia and Europe.
Dugin’s work references the ancient legend of the sunken city of Atlantis and the mythical civilisation of Hyperborea.
Russia, he says, is the modern-day incarnation of the ancient Hyperboreans, who must stand at odds with the modern-day Atlanteans ‒ the United States.
His writings also call for Ukraine to be absorbed into Russia, and demand that Moscow controls everything “from Vladivostok to Dublin”.
Mr Laine said: “We watch Putin’s slow but inexorable game in play, much of it based on Dugin’s ideas.
“It is not simply America which is the target of Putin’s autocratic games, but democracies the world over.
“Putin has waged a silent, surreptitious war against western Europe, NATO, [and] the US.
“Putin continues to support and prop up strategic tyrannical regimes, seeking to forge a new far-right bloc of nation states in and around Russia.
“Inteference in US elections, continued attacks on socia media via Russian hackers, increasing support for far right/white supremacist movements in Europe and around the world.
“All of this can be found in Dugin’s ‘Foundation of Geopolitics’, or in any number of his other writings.
“Does Putin put much stock in Dugin’s death cult ideal of a new Russian race?
“That hardly matters and Putin knows this. All that matters is that democratic nations ebb while autocratic rule rises.
“Putin seeks power for Putin, and doing so on the world stage, using Dugin’s writing as his playbook, is his best chance of getting exactly what he and his mafia of oligarchs want most of all.”
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