In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a Russian ultra-nationalist propagandist and “philosopher”, Aleksandr Dugin. He’s best-known for his blueprint on Russia’s geopolitical strategy and for his genocidal rhetoric towards Ukrainians.
1/17
In my first Dugin Soup, I covered the man’s 1997 book Foundations of Geopolitics — a manual for dismantling the West, breaking up NATO, and building a Russian-led empire. In it, he makes eerie “predictions” that seem to be playing out today.
2/17
Dugin called for destabilizing the US by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today: culture wars, conspiracy theories, far-right lunatics, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.
3/17
He also envisioned a fractured EU, torn apart by nationalism and internal disputes. Cue Brexit, rising far-right movements, and debates over which pro-Russian EU party is the biggest headache for Brussels. And all this was already planned back in 1997.
4/17
Some of Dugin’s most extreme fantasies – wars, occupations, and ethnic cleansings – are unfolding in Ukraine and Georgia. The final outcome is still uncertain, but his vision is being carried out in real-time.
5/17
Eventually, Dugin envisions a multipolar world where authoritarian empires—led by Russia—replace Western liberal values with traditionalism, spiritualism, and, of course, absolute power. He frames this as a struggle between a “corrupt, materialistic West”…
6/17
…and a “pure, traditionalist Russia.” And these same ideas are echoed by Putin. His ideas aren’t just philosophy; they’re actual blueprints for destruction. Foundations of Geopolitics has even been used as a textbook and mandatory reading in the Russian military.
7/17
Dugin has consistently advocated for Ukraine’s annihilation. He claims Ukraine is an “artificial country” that must be absorbed into Russia. His rhetoric has dehumanized Ukrainians, even calling them a “race of degenerates” in 2014.
8/17
During the early stages of the Moscow-driven war in Donbas in 2014, Dugin declared on Russian state television that “Ukrainians need to be killed, killed, killed,” later continuing that “Ukraine needs to be cleansed of idiots. A genocide of cretins is a given.”
9/17
For years, Dugin’s influence was mostly confined to Russian and far-right European circles, with some weirdos like Jackson Hinkle thrown in the mix. But now, he is appearing in major Western media outlets, often framed as an “intellectual” rather than an extremist.
10/17
This trend was started in Apr 2024 by everyone’s favorite vatnik propagandist and “Russia expert”, Tucker Carlson. He gave Dugin an uncritical platform. By doing so, he mainstreamed his ideology to millions already primed to distrust their own democratic institutions.
11/17
Tucker, who can’t even pronounce Dugin’s name (WTF is “Duujin”?) has also complained that the madman’s books can’t be found on Amazon. Despite being an ultra-nationalist propagandist, he is increasingly being normalized as a “philosopher” in Western discourse.
12/17
And Carlson isn’t alone. CNN’s @FareedZakaria also platformed Dugin, referring to him as a “Russian political philosopher” instead of an extremist fascist. This normalization is dangerous and shifts the Overton window in favor of authoritarianism. To be fair, CNN REALLY…
13/17
…needs better ratings, and maybe someone thought this would help. Imagine Western media giving Goebbels airtime in the 1930s under the guise of “understanding different perspectives.” That’s what’s happening with Dugin today – his ideas are being…
14/17
… legitimized rather than condemned. Dugin presents himself as a philosopher, but he’s really just a second-rate Rasputin cosplayer. His “theories” are nothing more than dressed-up justifications for authoritarianism, genocide and imperial conquest.
15/17
Dugin’s Eurasianist theories have been used to justify Russia’s wars, interference in Western politics, and violent geopolitical strategies. But I guess normalizing Russian imperialism and fascism is just the next step in restoring trade relations and lifting sanctions.
16/17
The West doesn’t need to “understand” Dugin’s ideas – it needs to reject them outright. Every time he’s platformed, his dystopian fantasies get one step closer to reality. The world has enough problems without indulging another failed authoritarian dreamer.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American national security policy professional and the current under secretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby (@ElbridgeColby). He’s best-known for fighting with cartoon dogs online and for halting military aid to Ukraine.
1/21
Elbridge "Cheese" Colby earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Before entering government, he worked at top think tanks and in the intelligence community, focusing on nuclear policy and strategic planning.
2/21
Cheese quickly became a key voice for a “China First” strategy, arguing the US must prioritize military buildup in Asia over commitments in Europe or the Middle East. He sees (or saw, rather) Taiwan as the core test of US credibility.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’m going to talk about… Vatnik Soup! As some of you know, we also have a website where you can find every soup ever published. The site also has other useful resources, making it the most comprehensive resource on Russian disinformation & vatniks.
1/15
Unfortunately, Elon has flagged the website as malware, as he might not be very happy about the soups I wrote about him - so far, they have garnered over 60 million views on X/Twitter.
The “freedom of speech” spokesperson doesn’t seem too keen on free speech, after all.
2/15
The heart & soul of the website is of course the soups page. There you can find all 360+ soups, which can be sorted chronologically, by popularity, etc. You can also search for soups by title or even in the soup text:
In today’s Wumao Soup, I’ll introduce how and where the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) online propaganda and influence operations work. Due to China’s massive population and advances in AI, CCP-aligned online content has become increasingly visible.
1/20
Like Russia’s troll farms, China has its own troll army: the “50 Cent Party” or “Wumao” refers to state-linked online commentators who are reportedly paid ¥0.50 per post to steer discussions away from criticism and amplify CCP narratives on social media.
2/20
Back in 2017, a research paper estimated that the Wumao produced almost 500 million fabricated comments annually to distract readers and shift topics. In that sense, Wumao operates very similarly to the Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” model:
In today’s Vatnik Soup and the “Degenerate Russia” series, I’ll show you the brutal reality of Russian war crimes, in particular the horrific tortures and sexual abuses of children, women and men.
Buckle up, this one is not for the faint-hearted.
1/24
For over a decade now and as part of their “firehose of falsehood” propaganda strategy, Russia has been spreading false narratives targeted at right-wing/conservative audiences, portraying russia as a bastion of Christian, traditional,family values.
In the previous “degenerate Russia” series we discussed Russia’s insanely high divorce rates, rampant domestic violence, high murder rates, thriving neo-Nazi culture, corruption of the Orthodox Church, and their massive demographic problem:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explore how Russia is working with Iran, and how the recent Israel–US strikes on Iran could affect the war in Ukraine. Iran has been one of Russia’s key allies in their genocidal war, but in reality the partnership is deeply one-sided.
1/21
Historically, Russia/USSR has been involved in numerous wars in the Middle East, invading Afghanistan for nearly a decade and desperately trying to keep Syria’s authoritarian leader, al-Assad, in power before his eventual downfall.
2/21
While initially supportive of Israel, the Soviet Union quickly pivoted to backing its enemies, fueling antisemitism, terrorism, and chaos in an already tense region. At times, this meant near-open war, like when Soviet Air Force MiG-21s were shot down by Israel over Egypt.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll re-introduce a Latvian politician and former MEP, Tatjana Ždanoka. She’s best-known for her history in the Communist Party of Latvia, for her pro-Russian politics in the country, and her connections to Russian intelligence.
1/22
Based on Ždanoka’s speeches and social media posts, she has a deep hatred towards the people of Latvia. The reason for this can only be speculated, but part of it could be due to her paternal family being killed by the Latvian Auxiliary Police,…
2/22
…a paramilitary force supported by the Nazis, during the early 1940s. Ždanoka became politically active in the late 80s. She was one of the leaders of Interfront, a political party that supported Latvia remaining part of the USSR.