In the meantime, many experts estimate that the chance that this is a planned operation by Ukraine is not particularly likely, and point to the great difficulty of Ukrainian agents penetrating the Russian capital. The same sources also say that even if Ukraine managed to gain access and eliminate senior officials in Moscow – they have a list of targets that are much more “attractive” than Dogin or Dogina. Against the background of these things, there are also various estimates that it is possible that the Russian intelligence is behind the operation, in an attempt to deal with false accusations against Kyiv and thus justify further aggressive actions against it. Another possibility offered this morning is that Dugin’s political opponents within the Russian leadership are behind the attempt to eliminate him.
On the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a speech by Vladimir Putin was published, in which he clarified, once again, his position regarding Ukraine. Putin said he opposes the idea of Ukraine as an independent country, adding that it “never had a tradition of real roots.” According to him, in the same speech in which he announced the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Ukraine “was created by Russia, or to be more precise – by Bolshevik and Communist Russia.”
For many around the world, Putin’s words were unusual and dramatic, and perhaps even surprising. However, the things were to a large extent part of a systematic change presented by Dugin over many years – and known to many in Russia. “Putin’s Rasputin” has become over the past decades, and especially in recent years, one of the most senior and important figures in Russia, and even if he sometimes works behind the scenes – his ideas have become important shapers of public opinion.
Burst with the fall of the Soviet Union and published a bestseller on “the future of Russia”
The public in Russia began to get to know Dogin in the early 1990s, with the fall of the Soviet Union, when he was a journalist in a media outlet identified with the extreme right in Russia. In those days he published one of his first manifestos, called “The Great Continental War”, comparing Russia to the “Eternal Roman Empire”. He then claimed that Russia was facing the West, which is mainly concerned with individualism and materialism, and compared it to the “eternal Carthage” (the historical rival of the Roman Republic in the third and second centuries AD).
In those days, Dugin founded the “National Bolshevik Party” in Russia, which advocated many fascist and neo-Nazi elements. The party adopted many revolutionary ideas, with a symbol that combines the symbols of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The party’s slogan was: “Yes, death”, and was said in combination with a raised hand salute.
Dugin’s real breakthrough into the Russian consciousness was in 1997, when he published a book that became a bestseller in almost every household in the Russia of those days. The book is called “Essentials of Geopolitics: What is the geopolitical future of Russia?”. The book dealt with Russia’s confrontation as a power with the West, and sought to formulate a practice that would help to deal with the West: “Using disinformation and ‘soft power’ to incite and ignite riots that will shake the stability of all institutions in the US, including focusing on the inter-racial issues and political tensions in the country, while strengthening The national and authoritarian values from home.” The book was a resounding success, and was sold in almost every store and supermarket in Russia.
A re-examination of his famous book shows how much his influence is still felt today. In the eyes of many, the issue of Russia’s involvement in the US presidential elections in 2016, for example, may indicate the influence of the book – which sought to intervene in the most sensitive and important internal institutions of what is perceived as a superpower and Russia’s greatest enemy.
Russia’s foreign policy leader
Over the years, Dugin was a particularly important figure in Russian politics, and spoke widely about Russia’s foreign actions. In 2008 he called for the use of a lot of Russian force and aggression in the conflict with Georgia in Ossetia, and in 2014 he called for cooperation with the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, in 2014, Dugin made a rather unusual statement, even for him, that created many headlines – when he called for the mass and systematic killing of Ukrainian citizens: “Kill them, kill them, kill them.” Although the difficult statement cost him a public position in those days, he remained in a senior position in the Russian media – something that would not have been possible without Putin’s clear approval.
#Putin‘s Advisor Dugin:
“Ukrainians need to be killed, killed, killed. I am telling you this as a professor.” pic.twitter.com/Cvo841cmkg— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) June 13, 2014
Dugin’s positions are clear and distinct: the restoration of Russia as a powerful and authoritative state, and the dismantling from within of all the enemies of the Russian state, with an emphasis on the liberal West. For him, the world is divided between “the Atlantic camp of the Americans and Europeans, who deal mainly with political correctness, anti-hierarchy and human rights – and the Eurasian camp, where Russian culture leads, and which knows how to respect and appreciate the pillars of human life: God, tradition, community, The ethnicities, empires and kingdoms”.
In an interview he gave to the network NBC In 2017 he said: “I have always believed and will always believe in the power and greatness of Russia, because Russia has always tried and will always try to maintain its power as a world power.” He said that his vision is to return Russia to being one of the greatest powers in the world alongside several other powers – who will lead and dictate the world order. To do this, he said, Russia needs to invest in broad areas, and not just in the military field.
Justifies the war in Ukraine – and dictates messages to Putin
As far as Ukraine is concerned, Dugin clearly aspires to full Russian control over the entire northern part of the Black Sea – in a way that will help Russia strengthen its position as a world power. In addition, he claims that Ukraine should be nothing more than an administrative district belonging entirely to the Russian Federation.
Dugin’s positions regarding Ukraine were expressed in the famous article published by Putin a little over a year ago, in which he revealed his intentions regarding the neighbor to the west – which six months later he invaded militarily. “Russians and Ukrainians are members of the same people, sharing the same historical and spiritual space,” Putin wrote. According to him, in a way that most of all corresponds with Dugin’s positions, the common lineage of the Russians and the Ukrainians, a trace of the ancient Russian Empire, “challenges the legitimacy of the modern borders of Ukraine.”
Since the war began, Dugin has continued to express his firm position regarding Russia’s right to invade Ukraine, as part of “Russia’s only way forward”. Shortly after the war began, he published a video on Telegram, in which he justified the invasion: “Without Ukraine, Russia is unable to become an empire again. With Ukraine as part of Russia, Moscow will be able to become the empire it always wanted to be.”
At this point it is still unclear who is behind the explosion that resulted in the death of Daria Dogina, and if she was indeed the target of the assassination or if it was her father. At the same time, Dugin is considered one of the clear representatives of the Russian war in Ukraine, and it seems easy to understand why he and his family apparently became a target for harm.
It is doubtful whether the Russians will carry out an authentic and genuine investigation of the car explosion and the circumstances of Dogina’s murder, and will not seek to exploit it for internal political interests. Against the background of the fact that in the last two weeks the war also moved to the Russian territory in the Crimean Peninsula – there are already those who suggest and raise the hypothesis that Ukrainian elements managed to penetrate deep into Russia and harm the senior officials in Moscow there. At the same time, and against the background of the reports of the strengthening of opposition to the war within Russia itself – it is not impossible that it is precisely Russian citizens who are behind the attack, in an attempt, perhaps, to signal their opposition to the ideas that led Russia to it.