Alexander Dugin is a well-known figure in the Kremlin. He began his career as a political commentator for a Russian television channel and in the 1990s he worked for a time in the Russian State Duma – the lower house of parliament – where he dealt with geopolitical issues. Dugin is a Russian nationalist who has been calling for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine for years.
Dugin wrote several books in defense of a powerful Eurasian empire – a Russian bloc stretching from Europe to Vladivostok. According to Dugin, the Westernization of Russian society in the 1990s was detrimental to Russia’s geopolitical influence. According to Dugin, to restore it, a systemic crisis is needed, a clash with the West. The annexation of Ukraine to Russia is a systemic crisis.
“Dugin is a theorist and proponent of neo-Eurasianism,” says international politics professor David Krickemans. “They believe that a systemic crisis with the West is inevitable. And so they participated in his provocation in Ukraine to create a new, bigger Russia, which is still relevant in world politics.”
Dugin advocated the invasion of Ukraine for many years. His daughter Daria, a journalist, was a staunch supporter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both have been on the US, EU and UK sanctions lists since 2015.
Dugin also opposes liberalism, classifies many of his statements as fascist, and attaches great importance to the conservative values of the Orthodox Church. Alexander Dugin’s nickname is “Rasputin”, due to his alleged influence on President Putin, although Dugin has occasionally faded into the background for years.
