Aleksandr Dugin
Encyclopedia
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin is a politologist and one of the most popular ideologists
of Russian expansionism
, nationalism
, and fascism
, with close ties to the Kremlin and Russian military. He was the leading organizer of National Bolshevik Party, National Bolshevik Front
, and Eurasia Party
. His political activities are directed toward restoration of the Russian Empire
through partitioning of the former Soviet republics, such as Georgia
and Ukraine
, and unification with Russian-speaking territories, especially Eastern Ukraine and Crimea
.
He is known for the book Foundations of Geopolitics
.
, into a family of a high-ranking Soviet military intelligence
officer. His mother was a doctor. In 1979 he entered the Moscow Aviation Institute
.
. In 1988 he and his friend Geydar Dzhemal joined the nationalist group Pamyat
. He helped to write the political program for the newly refounded Communist Party of the Russian Federation
under the leadership of Gennady Zyuganov
.
In his 1997 article “Fascism – Borderless and Red”, Dugin exclaimed the arrival of a “genuine, true, radically revolutionary and consistent, fascist fascism
” in Russia. He believes that it was "...by no means the racist and chauvinist aspects of National Socialism that determined the nature of its ideology. The excesses of this ideology in Germany are a matter exclusively of the Germans, ...while Russian fascism
is a combination of natural national conservatism with a passionate desire for true changes.". "Waffen-SS
and especially the scientific sector of this organization, Ahnenerbe
," was "an intellectual oasis in the framework of the National Socialist regime", according to him.
Dugin soon began publishing his own journal entitled Elementy which initially began by praising Franco-Belgian Jean-François Thiriart
, supporter of a Europe "from Dublin to Vladivostok." Consistently glorifying both Tsar
ist and Stalinist
Russia, Elementy also revealed Dugin's admiration for Julius Evola
. Dugin also collaborated with the weekly journal Den (The Day), a bastion of Russian anti-Cosmopolitanism previously directed by Alexander Prokhanov
.
Dugin was amongst the earliest members of the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) and convinced Eduard Limonov
to enter the political arena in 1994. A part of hard-line nationalist NBP members, supported by Dugin split off to form the more right-wing, anti-liberal, anti-left, anti-Kasparov aggressive nationalist organization, National Bolshevik Front
. After breaking with Limonov, he became close to Yevgeny Primakov
and later to Vladimir Putin
's circle.
, later Eurasia Movement, was officially recognized by the Ministry of Justice on May 31, 2001. The Eurasia Party claims support by some military circles and by leaders of the Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and Jewish faiths in Russia, and the party hopes to play a key role in attempts to resolve the Chechen
problem, with the objective of setting the stage for Dugin's dream of a Russian strategic alliance with European and Middle Eastern states, primarily Iran
. Dugin's ideas, particularly those on "a Turkic
-Slavic
alliance in the Eurasian sphere" have recently become popular among certain nationalistic circles in Turkey
, most notably among alleged members of the Ergenekon network
, which is the subject of a high-profile trial (on charges of conspiracy). Dugin also advocates for a Russo-Arab alliance.
He has criticized the "Euro-Atlantic" involvement in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election
as a scheme to create a "cordon sanitaire
" around Russia, much like the British attempt post-World War I
.
Dugin has criticized Putin for the "loss" of Ukraine, and accused his Eurasianism of being "empty." In 2005 he announced the creation of an anti-Orange youth front to fight similar threats to Russia. The Eurasian Youth Union
created and sponsored by Dugin was accused of vandalism and extrimist activities. The organization was banned in Ukraine by the courts and Alexander Dugin was declared persona non grata
due to his anti-Ukrainian activities.
Before war broke out
between Russia
and Georgia
in 2008, Dugin visited South Ossetia
and predicted, "Our troops will occupy the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the entire country, and perhaps even Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, which is historically part of Russia, anyway." Afterwards he said Russia
should "not stop at liberating South Ossetia but should move further," and "we have to do something similar in Ukraine."
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
of Russian expansionism
Expansionism
In general, expansionism consists of expansionist policies of governments and states. While some have linked the term to promoting economic growth , more commonly expansionism refers to the doctrine of a state expanding its territorial base usually, though not necessarily, by means of military...
, nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, with close ties to the Kremlin and Russian military. He was the leading organizer of National Bolshevik Party, National Bolshevik Front
National Bolshevik Front
National Bolshevik Front has been used as a name for three separate strands of National Bolshevism. The name initially applied to the Russian National Bolshevik Party of Eduard Limonov when it was founded in 1993...
, and Eurasia Party
Eurasia Party
The Eurasia Party was registered as a political party by the Ministry of Justice of Russia on 21 June 2002, approximately one year after the Pan-Russian Eurasia Movement was established by Aleksandr Dugin...
. His political activities are directed toward restoration of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
through partitioning of the former Soviet republics, such as Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and unification with Russian-speaking territories, especially Eastern Ukraine and Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
.
He is known for the book Foundations of Geopolitics
Foundations of Geopolitics
The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia is a geopolitical book by Alexander Dugin. The book has had a large influence within the Russian military, police, and statist foreign policy elites and is used as a textbook in the General Staff Academy of Russian military.-Use:The...
.
Early life and education
Dugin was born in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, into a family of a high-ranking Soviet military intelligence
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
officer. His mother was a doctor. In 1979 he entered the Moscow Aviation Institute
Moscow Aviation Institute
Moscow Aviation Institute is one of several major engineering higher education establishments in Moscow .Although the school is currently offering a wide range of majors and research...
.
Early career and political views
Dugin worked as a journalist before becoming involved in politics just before the fall of communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. In 1988 he and his friend Geydar Dzhemal joined the nationalist group Pamyat
Pamyat
Pamyat is a Russian nationalist organization identifying itself as the "People's National-patriotic Orthodox Christian movement." The group's stated focus is preserving Russian culture.- History :...
. He helped to write the political program for the newly refounded Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
under the leadership of Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov is a Russian politician, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation , Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union , deputy of the State Duma , and a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...
.
In his 1997 article “Fascism – Borderless and Red”, Dugin exclaimed the arrival of a “genuine, true, radically revolutionary and consistent, fascist fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
” in Russia. He believes that it was "...by no means the racist and chauvinist aspects of National Socialism that determined the nature of its ideology. The excesses of this ideology in Germany are a matter exclusively of the Germans, ...while Russian fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
is a combination of natural national conservatism with a passionate desire for true changes.". "Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
and especially the scientific sector of this organization, Ahnenerbe
Ahnenerbe
The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
," was "an intellectual oasis in the framework of the National Socialist regime", according to him.
Dugin soon began publishing his own journal entitled Elementy which initially began by praising Franco-Belgian Jean-François Thiriart
Jean-François Thiriart
Jean-François Thiriart was a Belgian far right politician.-Youth:Initially a Socialist, Thiriart eventually adopted a form of non-Marxist, Nationalist Socialism....
, supporter of a Europe "from Dublin to Vladivostok." Consistently glorifying both Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist and Stalinist
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
Russia, Elementy also revealed Dugin's admiration for Julius Evola
Julius Evola
Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola also known as Julius Evola, was an Italian philosopher and esotericist...
. Dugin also collaborated with the weekly journal Den (The Day), a bastion of Russian anti-Cosmopolitanism previously directed by Alexander Prokhanov
Alexander Prokhanov
Alexander Andreyevich Prokhanov is a Soviet and Russian writer. He is a member of the secretariat of the Writers Union of the Russian Federation and the editor-in-chief of ultra-nationalist newspaper "Завтра" ....
.
Dugin was amongst the earliest members of the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) and convinced Eduard Limonov
Eduard Limonov
Eduard Limonov is Russian writer and political dissident, and is the founder and leader of radical National Bolshevik Party. An opponent of Vladimir Putin, Limonov is one of leaders of Other Russia political bloc.-Early life:...
to enter the political arena in 1994. A part of hard-line nationalist NBP members, supported by Dugin split off to form the more right-wing, anti-liberal, anti-left, anti-Kasparov aggressive nationalist organization, National Bolshevik Front
National Bolshevik Front
National Bolshevik Front has been used as a name for three separate strands of National Bolshevism. The name initially applied to the Russian National Bolshevik Party of Eduard Limonov when it was founded in 1993...
. After breaking with Limonov, he became close to Yevgeny Primakov
Yevgeny Primakov
Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov is a Russian politician and diplomat. During his long career, he served as the Russian Foreign Minister, Prime Minister of Russia, Speaker of the Soviet of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, and chief of intelligence service...
and later to Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
's circle.
Formation of The Eurasia Movement
The Eurasia PartyEurasia Party
The Eurasia Party was registered as a political party by the Ministry of Justice of Russia on 21 June 2002, approximately one year after the Pan-Russian Eurasia Movement was established by Aleksandr Dugin...
, later Eurasia Movement, was officially recognized by the Ministry of Justice on May 31, 2001. The Eurasia Party claims support by some military circles and by leaders of the Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and Jewish faiths in Russia, and the party hopes to play a key role in attempts to resolve the Chechen
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
problem, with the objective of setting the stage for Dugin's dream of a Russian strategic alliance with European and Middle Eastern states, primarily Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Dugin's ideas, particularly those on "a Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
-Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
alliance in the Eurasian sphere" have recently become popular among certain nationalistic circles in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, most notably among alleged members of the Ergenekon network
Ergenekon network
Ergenekon is the name given to an alleged clandestine, Kemalist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with possible ties to members of the country's military and security forces...
, which is the subject of a high-profile trial (on charges of conspiracy). Dugin also advocates for a Russo-Arab alliance.
He has criticized the "Euro-Atlantic" involvement in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election
Ukrainian presidential election, 2004
The Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 was held on October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union...
as a scheme to create a "cordon sanitaire
Cordon sanitaire
Cordon sanitaire — or quarantine line — is a French phrase that, literally translated, means "sanitary cordon". Though in French it originally denoted a barrier implemented to stop the spread of disease, it has often been used in English in a metaphorical sense to refer to attempts to prevent the...
" around Russia, much like the British attempt post-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Dugin has criticized Putin for the "loss" of Ukraine, and accused his Eurasianism of being "empty." In 2005 he announced the creation of an anti-Orange youth front to fight similar threats to Russia. The Eurasian Youth Union
Eurasian Youth Union
Eurasian Youth Union is a Russian political organization, the youth wing of the Eurasia Party headed by Aleksandr Dugin. The organization has branches in several countries...
created and sponsored by Dugin was accused of vandalism and extrimist activities. The organization was banned in Ukraine by the courts and Alexander Dugin was declared persona non grata
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
due to his anti-Ukrainian activities.
Before war broke out
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
in 2008, Dugin visited South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
and predicted, "Our troops will occupy the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the entire country, and perhaps even Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, which is historically part of Russia, anyway." Afterwards he said Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
should "not stop at liberating South Ossetia but should move further," and "we have to do something similar in Ukraine."
Dugin's works
- Pop-kultura i znaki vremeni, Amphora (2005)
- Absoliutnaia rodina, Arktogeia-tsentr (1999)
- Tampliery proletariata: natsional-bol'shevizm i initsiatsiia, Arktogeia (1997)
- Osnovy geopolitiki: geopoliticheskoe budushchee Rossii, Arktogeia (1997)
- Metafizika blagoi vesti: Pravoslavnyi ezoterizm, Arktogeia (1996)
- Misterii Evrazii, Arktogeia (1996)
- Konservativnaia revoliutsiia, Arktogeia (1994)
- Conspirology
See also
- Eurasianism
- Intermediate RegionIntermediate RegionAn established geopolitical model set forth in the 1970s by the Greek historian Dimitri Kitsikis, professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada. According to this model, the Eurasian continent is composed of not only two civilisational regions, that is, Western and Eastern , but also a third...
- Eurasian Youth UnionEurasian Youth UnionEurasian Youth Union is a Russian political organization, the youth wing of the Eurasia Party headed by Aleksandr Dugin. The organization has branches in several countries...
- Foundations of GeopoliticsFoundations of GeopoliticsThe Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia is a geopolitical book by Alexander Dugin. The book has had a large influence within the Russian military, police, and statist foreign policy elites and is used as a textbook in the General Staff Academy of Russian military.-Use:The...
External links
- Biography, International Eurasianist Movement {several languages}
- Arctogaia
- Eurasia Movement (Archived 2009-10-25)
- Yigal Liverant, "The Prophet of the New Russian Empire", Azure (Winter 2009).
- "Aleksandr Dugin: A Russian Version of the European Radical Right?"
- Eurasia, rivista di studi geopolitici