Ukraine 04

 As we saw in the Nuremberg Trials, Hitler did not act alone. And neither does Putin. His power as a dictator rests on the support he receives from other powerful people. They are powerful because they receive support from a significant segment of Russian society that is steeped in a culture very different from that which prevails in the West.

To begin to get a glimpse of what is driving Putin's Ukrainian war we might do worse than look at Aleksandr Dugin.

I don't suppose most folk have heard of him, but it's high time we did. What better place to start our education on Dugin than Wikipedia?

Why is he important? Because his ideas have encapsulated a particular strand of thinking within Russia and his 1997 book, Foundations of Geopolitics, has been used in the training of the Russian military leadership. To our Western eyes it may seem crazy stuff but for many Russians it is what drives them on, to create a global power that stretches from Dublin to Vladivostok. 

Much has been written about Aleksandr Dugin; the warnings have been clear, but mostly ignored. Here's some reading to catch up on:

2014 Russian nationalist thinker Dugin sees war with Ukraine. Dina Newman.

2015 Ukraine crisis: US sanctions target Russia ideologue. BBC News

2016 Aleksandr Dugin: 'We have our special Russian truth' - BBC Newsnight

2017 1990s Manifesto outlining Russia’s plans is starting to come true. Charles Firth.

2017 Alexander Dugin, Eurasianism, and the American Election, Matthew Sharpe,

Associate Professor in Philosophy, Deakin University.

2018 Did philosopher Alexander Dugin, aka "Putin's brain," shape the 2016 election? Conor Lynch

2018 The Illiberal Far-Right of Aleksandr Dugin. A conversation. Luca Steinmann.

2020 The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia. Aleksandr Dugin. 1997. Chace A. Nelson.2020 Putin’s Rasputin: The Dangerous Mind of Aleksandr Dugin. Christopher Laine.

Well, that'll be enough for now, and should be more than enough to show that we've made a calamitous mistake to let Putin think he can invade Ukraine and win. He has started World War Three and we must stop him before more damage is done.