The Assassination Attempt on Dugin Failed: Who is Dugin?
With the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Alexander Dugin, the controversial and famous Russian theorist in Moscow, which resulted in the death of his daughter, Dugin has returned to the headlines. This return did not follow a long absence; in recent months, following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he has been a significant figure in Western analysts’ discussions about the roots and backgrounds of Russian theorizing to justify Putin’s occupation. Dugin, who is known in our country due to extensive cultural and political relations, has established wide and key connections at various levels in our country.
It is obvious that the first image of him in the minds of Iranians is his presence in the Arbaeen pilgrimage alongside a recently deceased right-wing Iranian artist and political and religious figure. However, his activities in Iran go far beyond this simple presence. Understanding Dugin, his beliefs, his role in Russia, and the network he and his superiors have created worldwide to spread fascism using misleading and deviationary ideas and terms is crucial for Iranians.
Communist, Anti-Communist, and Always Fascist
Alexander Dugin’s first serious activities in Soviet politics had an anti-communist approach. However, the important point in his political life was his joining the Russian neo-Nazi organization in 1988, and from here, the trace of fascism in his political behavior can be followed to this day. His political activities in the form of forming various parties and fronts have been influenced by at least two concepts.
One is the polished concept and term of Eurasia and Eurasianism, which is based on the power and authenticity of the Russian race and has serious connections with Orthodox Christianity, and the other is pure fascism under the guise of Eurasianism, relying on accusing liberalism and other schools of being fascist. One of the political organizations Dugin formed had a flag explicitly inspired by the Nazi Germany flag.
Putin’s Theorist and Author
Regarding Alexander Dugin’s role in the Kremlin and his influence on Vladimir Putin, there has been both exaggeration outside of academic articles and books and underestimation in some cases. The realities about his role and the extent of his influence have become clearer in recent months. During the years of Putin’s consolidation of power, Dugin, with his theory of Eurasianism and reliance on Russian racial nationalism, caught Putin’s attention. In reality, the structure of Russia’s administration in the Kremlin sought to establish and expand Russia around Putin’s leadership, pursuing a creeping fascism based on nationality and religion to provide a program, model, and vision for the future.
Dugin and his ideas and book met this need. The book ‘The Foundations of Geopolitics,’ which Dugin published in 1997, and his overall articles and speeches during the years of Putin’s establishment in Russia caught the Kremlin’s eye. Putin made this book mandatory for teaching in universities and special and important institutions.
This book, based on the authenticity and superiority of the Russian race, is filled with contempt for Western schools and dreams for the future of Eurasia centered on Russia. Dugin, childishly and as if drawing his desired world map with colored pencils, outlines the future of countries under the shadow of Russian racial and religious superiority, for example, giving Finland to Russia, Estonia to Germany, tearing Azerbaijan apart, and of course, outlining a Russian-Iranian axis for the future, which naturally is an axis between a fascist Russia and an Iran that has been colored in the same way.
Loves Occupation
His terrifying speeches during Russia’s invasion of Georgia were astonishing and reeked of racism. Dugin has always had a plan for Ukraine and talked about it, which he now seeks seriously in Putin’s thus far unsuccessful invasion. During Russia’s attack on Ukraine, he and his daughter engaged in serious media and political activities to fully support Putin’s invasion, and his daughter recently delivered a comprehensive speech defending the Russian army and blaming Ukraine for the Bucha city disaster.
This occupation, which Putin presented under the bizarre claim of denazification of Ukraine, must be seen precisely in the context of fascism. Hatred and opposition to Judaism are one of the pillars of Dugin’s thought and the more important theorist figures in the Kremlin, which naturally have been welcomed by Putin. Emphasizing the importance of Orthodox Christianity and anti-Semitism in his discourse and strategy increases his and his Kremlin’s popularity in Russia. This approach not only justifies but also makes the occupation appealing.
Chain of Extremism in the World
Dugin is one of the influential figures in creating a wide network of extremist and right-wing groups and figures worldwide, which have been connected with the support of Russia. He has serious ties with right-wing extremists and fascists like the Lega party in Italy and France. In France, Dugin has been more successful than in his other target countries like Spain and has established serious relations with French extremist circles.
This network is also extremely powerful in Hungary, and the key new point is its connection with the United States. French extremism proposed the delusional idea of a great threat to the white race from liberals and claimed that liberals want to de-whiten their countries with non-white immigrants. This idea is one of the bases of the recent years’ discourse of American conservatives and Republicans.
Most importantly, Hungary, whose prime minister is becoming a prophet of Christian nationalism for American conservatives and has been a special guest at their conferences. Dugin’s role in empowering the Hungarian and French rings of the Russian-supported fascist network is serious. Similar structures have also been created by him and his network in Greece and Turkey, and finally, it should be noted that he has good and strong relations with the Ku Klux Klan in America, and the leaders of extremist groups in the New World are his good friends. The famous leader of the Ku Klux Klan, who you remember, came to Iran a few years ago for a conference on the Holocaust.