Thread by @TobyVenables

We’ve all seen Putin’s bizarre references to the ‘de-nazification’ of Ukraine govt. A couple of days ago, in response, I tweeted ‘De-nazification begins at home’. But this wasn’t just empty 'back atcha' rhetoric.
It’s time we talked about Putin advisor Aleksandr Dugin. 1/22

This is Dugin. He has been called ‘Putin’s Rasputin’, and not just because of the beard. He wrote the literal playbook that has shaped Putin’s foreign policy. In essence, it’s Putin’s Mein Kampf; everything laid out years before in black and white for all to see. 2/22

First, a little about Dugin himself. In addition to advising Duma members and Putin, he was a founding member of the National Bolshevik Party, the National Bolshevik Front and the Eurasia Party. 3/22

This is the symbol of the National Bolshevik Party. Its slogan is: ‘Russia is everything, the rest is nothing!’ 4/22

And this is a symbol for National Bolshevism, designed by Dugin himself. The points of reference are clear. In his writings he has expressed admiration for the Waffen SS and says he seeks to establish a ‘radically revolutionary and consistent, fascist fascism’ in Russia. 5/22

He believes the internet should be banned, and has said that chemistry and physics are demonic sciences. 6/22

Dugin also founded the Eurasia Youth Union, which has carried out acts of vandalism on Ukrainian national monuments. Both the movement and Dugin himself are banned from Ukraine. 7/22

If the term ‘Eurasia’ sounds familiar, it is perhaps because you’ll find it in Orwell’s 1984. For Dugin, however, this dystopian novel isn’t a warning - it’s a model to aspire to. 8/22

Not surprisingly for an old Soviet philosopher, perhaps, Dugin is anti-capitalist. He is also anti-liberal, anti-democracy, pro-dictatorship. For him, Stalin, not Lenin, is the great ideological hero. 9/22

Like Putin, he believes the breakup of the Soviet Union was a disaster. Through his writings, he proposes the re-establishment of the Soviet-era empire, and beyond - ‘Greater Russia’ - by force. 10/22

In 2008, when Putin invaded Georgia (using almost identical political and military strategy is we are seeing now), Dugin urged him to keep up the momentum by attacking Ukraine. 11/22

Dugin is also a hero and inspiration for the Western far-right. White supremacists and alt-right leaders at Charlottesville idolise him. 12/22 newsweek.com/leaders-charlo…

In 2008, he met and talked with Trump advisor and far-right activist Steve Bannon. If you wondered why Trump was soft on Putin, wonder no longer. 13/22

Dugin’s written over 30 books, but by far the most significant is 1997’s Foundations of Geopolitics. This has been used as a textbook in the Academy of the General Staff of the Russian military. It has also been recommended that it be taught in Russian schools 14/22

Foundations of Geopolitics sets out very specific aims for establishing the 'Greater Russia'. For example, advocates cutting off the UK, politically, from the rest of Europe. This has been achieved. 15/22

It advocates the destabilization of the West using disinformation and subversion. This has long been underway under Putin’s leadership. 16/22

It advocates making use of the West’s dependence on Russian oil and gas to exert pressure. This has been a concern for years, and is undoubtedly hindering sanctions. 17/22 time.com/6151493/russia…

It advocates that Ukraine should be annexed and all trace of national identity erased. This is being attempted now. 18/22

It doesn’t end there. Dugin advocates bringing most of Europe into the Russian fold in some manner, including not only obvious candidates such as Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, but also Finland, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, ‘Serbian Bosnia’ and Greece. 19/22

There is a quote often (erroneously) attributed to Goebbels: ‘Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty’. It’s nonetheless a common tactic within the far-right - one used again and again by Trump (‘Fake news!’) 20/22

It also explains all of Putin’s accusations regarding Ukraine - neo-nazism, threats to security, subversion, supposed expansionism... All these accurately describe Putin’s own actions and motivations. 21/22

And what all this makes clear is that if not prevented, Putin will not stop at Ukraine, any more than Hitler stopped at Austria, or Czechoslovakia, or Poland. 22/22

Thanks for all the incredible support for this thread. I am trying to reply/follow back but it’s been a bit crazy… One thing’s for sure; lots more people know about Dugin.

Another perspective on this: ft.com/content/2917c3…