Abstract
Alexander Dugin, the seminal philosopher and journalist in post-Soviet Russia, was especially influential in the late Yeltsin/early Putin era. His visions of Russian history and the relationship between past and present reflect the views of many ethnic Russians who became quite disappointed with the results of the post-Soviet transformation. Dugin believed the collapse of the state was a temporary setback, one of many in Russia’s long history, when a collapse usually led to a new glorious rise. The current ‘Time of Trouble’ is a good example; as a matter of fact, Russia has had not one but many ‘Times of Troubles’. (‘Time of Trouble’ is the term that had been used by both pre-Revolutionary and Soviet historians. In its strict historical meaning, the event covered the period from the end of the sixteenth century to 1613.)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Dugin wrote a big monograph on Martin Heidegger (see Dugin, 2011).
This despise of the Russian populace was indeed quite common among some segments of Westernized Russian intelligentsia, and, in a way, shared by some of Western observers, especially in the big cities. Their approach to the masses could be seen in Orwell’s Animal Farm. Here the horse in a way represented the masses. It is true that ‘horse’ was brutally mistreated and actually worked to death by the cunning elite. Still ‘horse’, the masses were in a way responsible for their own fate. As a matter of fact ‘horse’ never tried to rebel and followed the rider blindly. Alexander Zinov’ev (Zinoviev), the well known mathematician and dissident writer was even harsher in his views of the Soviet masses. In his bestselling book The Yawning Heights he presented Soviets as despising ‘ebantsy’, literally ‘fuck up chaps’. He regarded their life in the totalitarian Soviet regime as the most appropriate for such types of individuals. Moreover, these disgusting zombies were always on the side of the regime who persecuted the true free thinkers. One might add that Zinov’ev’s view of the regime changed drastically after the collapse of the USSR.
Dugin’s views on Jews stemmed from his general philosophical outlook and were related to the views of some of pre-WWII classical Eurasianists such as Yakov Bromberg. Following his line of thought, Dugin divided Jews into two categories. The first, Oriental Jews, Jews of Eurasia, are endowed with all the positive characteristics of other Eurasian people. These Oriental/Eurasian Jews are spiritual, ready to help any person regardless of ethnicity/religion and ready to sacrifice their life for the cause. It was these Jews who fought for the great Soviet Empire. The ‘Atlantist’ Western Jews were the absolute opposite of ‘Oriental’/Eurasian Jews. They were the embodiment of crass materialism and cynicism. It was they who destroyed the USSR and serve the United States. Western and Oriental/Eurasian Jews are in sharp conflict with each other and their conflict reflects the conflict between ‘Atlantism’ and ‘Eurasianism’. (see Dugin, 2014a).
On Eurasianism, see Laruelle (2008).
See for example, Megoran and Sharapova (2014). It was this trend that led to the success of Dugin’s (1997).
On early assessments of Dugin, see for example, von Kreitor (1993).
On Eurasianism and Dugin’s presumed influence over Putin, see, for example, Kubicak (2004).
On contemporary Russian nationalism, see Laruelle (2009).
Information about Dugin’s relationship with Moscow State University is controversial and the author of this article was informed that Dugin continued to teach in this or that capacity.
Pre WWII Eurasinaists already had quite positive views of the Mongols (see, for example, Trubetskoi, 1991).
Pitatel’ i filosof Aleksandr Dugin: Prazdnik 4 noiabria – eto kost’ v gorle vragov Rossii, www.kp.ru/daily/24388/566729, accessed 3 November 2009.
Aleksandr Dugin’s comments, actualcomment.ru/theme/886, accessed 4 November 2012.
Anatolii Andreevich’s comments, www.kp.ru/daily/24388/566729, accessed 8 November 2011.
Dumaiu’s comments, www.kp.ru/daily/24388/566729, accessed 4 November 2009.
Stiteman’s comments, www.kp.ru/daily/24388/566729, accessed 5 November 2009.
References
Clover, C. (2000) Off centre: Will the Russian bear roar again? Financial Times 2 December.
Clowes, E.W. (2011) Russia on the Edge: Imagined Geographies and Post-Soviet Identity. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Dugin, A. (1997) Osnovy geopolitiki i geopoliticheskoe budushchee Rossii. Moscow, Russia: Arktogeia.
Dugin, A. (2002) Evoliutsiia idei Rossii. Evraziia 25 February.
Dugin, A. (2006) Konets Smutnogo vremeni v Novoi Rossii. KM.ru 4 November.
Dugin, A. (2011) Martin Khaidegger: vozmozhnost’ russkoi filosofii. Moscow, Russia: Akademicheskii proekt.
Dugin, A. (2012a) A multi-polar world and Russian foreign policy. International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations 58 (6).
Dugin, A. (2012b) The Fourth Political Theory. London: Arktos Media.
Dugin, A. (2014a) On the path to Eruasia: Excerpts from ‘The Jews and Eurasia’, http://www.gnosticliberationfront.com, accessed 5 November, 2014.
Dugin, A. (2014b) Eurasian Mission: An Introduction to Neo-Eurasianism. London: Arktos Media.
Dugin, A.G. (2013) Sotsiologiia geopoliticheskikh protsessov Rossii. konspekt lektsii, http://kak.znate.ru/docs/index-5126.html?page=82, accessed 15 July 2013.
Ekho Moskvy (2007) Minin i Pozharskii protiv Lenina – kto pobedit? 7 November.
Gumilev, L. (2000) Ot Rusi do Rossii. Moscow, Russia: Aris Press.
Kubicak, P. (2004) The Evolution of Eurasianism and the ‘Monroeski Doctrine’ under Vladimir Putin. Conference Paper, International Studies Association Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.
Laruelle, M. (2006) Aleksandr Dugin: A Russian Version of the European Radical Right? Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center.
Laruelle, M. (2008) Russian Eurasianism: An Ideology of Empire. Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press.
Laruelle, M. (ed.) (2009) Russian Nationalism and the National Reassertion of Russia. London: Routledge.
Megoran, N. and Sharapova, S. (eds.) (2013) Central Asia in International Relations: The Legacies of Halford Mackinder. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
O’Sullivan, J. (2009) ‘Bear right’. National Review 61, No. 16.
Prizel, I. (1998) National Identity and Foreign Policy: Nationalism and Leadership in Poland. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 165.
Senderov, V. (2008) Conservative revolution in Post-Soviet Russia: Overview of the main ideas. Social Sciences 39 (1).
Shenfield, S. (2009) Russian Fascism. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Shlapentokh, D. (2001) Russian nationalism today: The view of Alexander Dugin. Contemporary Review 279 (1626).
Shlapentokh, D. (2007a) Dugin Eurasianism: A window on the minds of the Russian elite or an intellectual ploy? Studies on East European Thought 59 (3).
Shlapentokh, D. (2007b) Dugin, eurasianism, and Central Asia. Communist & Post-Communist Studies 40 (2).
Shlapentokh, D. (2008) Alexander Dugin’s views on the Middle East. Space and Polity 12 (2).
Steshin, D. (2009) Pisatel’ i filosof Aleksandr Dugin: Prazdnik 4 Noiabria – eto kost’ v gorle vragov Rossii, http://www/kr.ru/daily/24388/566729, accessed 3 November 2009.
Suver, A. (2009) The Future is Eurasia. Istanbul, Turkey: YeniyOzyii (New Century Art) Publications.
Trubetskoi, N. (1991) The Legacy of Genghis Khan and Other Essays on Russia’s Identity. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan Slavic Publications.
von Kreitor, N.-K. (1993) Elements of the New Russian nationalism. Telos 3 (96).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shlaptentokh, D. Alexander Dugin’s ‘times of troubles’ as paradigms of Russian history. Int Polit Rev 3, 42–49 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/ipr.2015.32
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ipr.2015.32