The intellectual pursuits of the Russian thinkers have the same effect as the thinkers in the West upon the foundation of the geopolitical currents of our time. The seminal work of Isaiah Berlin, ‘Russian Thinkers’, introduces readers in the Anglophone world to the philosophical insights of Russian civilisation. It effectively reveals how Russian thinkers have addressed the enduring problems specific to their context through philosophical perspectives.
Intriguing process
Philosophy is not only a system of thoughts explaining some ontological problems lying beyond the human ken, it is a rather intriguing process that galvanises the very existence of the foundations of major institutions. The philosophical upbringing stemming from the enlightenment in the 18th century still echoes in the Western space, extending its relevance to politics, economics, and attitudes towards human rights. The West’s ardour for free markets and the preservation of civil liberties owe their moral debt to the ideological underpinnings of Socrates to Mill.
Russia is a state with a twisted identity, which is neither Western nor Oriental. As Leibniz admonished Peter the Great once “Russia’s historical destiny lies in serving as a gateway between the West and East”. When the aspirations filled with Marxist-Leninist doctrines withered away amidst the doldrums of post-Soviet chaos, Russians eagerly looked for their historical destiny. Their call was answered soon by the rise of Vladimir Putin and the ideological vacuum left by the extinction of communism led the path to the mastery of Alexander Dugin, the leading ideologue of the Russian-speaking world.
Dugin and his philosophical essence are antithetical to the liberal West as it denies the globalist agenda enunciated by the post-Cold War world. Today, Dugin is generally thought of as an enthusiastic war propagandist and neo-fascist who proposes to unite the global far right into an anti-Western alliance. The crux of Dugin’s philosophy is much subtler and philosophically worth examining than ignoring it as a fallacy. Buttressed by Russia’s unique religious and social consciousness, Dugin presents his philosophical ideas which consist of three main layers. The unique character of Russian thought is that it is a mystical tradition that serves as a counter-answer to the British emperor tradition and the search for a Platonic-typed philosopher ruler. Finally, he advocates for forming Eurasia under Russia’s orbit.
In contrast to the liberalism that often admires the existence of individual liberties along with the free markets, Dugin contends what if one does not choose both liberalism and communism? The Fourth Political Theory is the epitome of Dugin’s thought process explaining the alternatives available for humanity to confront the onerous world order that emerged in the post-Cold War context. The unipolar moment coined by Charles Krauthammer as a jubilant triumph of the US-led globalist order has been strictly denied by Dugin in the ‘Fourth Political Theory’. The ideological struggles that erupted in the last century among Liberalism, Communism and Fascism continued curtailing the choices of the people until Liberalism emerged triumphant at the end of the Cold War, which Dugin describes as the peak of the Third Political Theory. The phrase ‘Fourth Political Theory’, the subject of his philosophical corpus refers to the restoring civilisational values as the basis for the coming era. People create civilisations, and Dugin argues that political sovereignty rests in large civilisational spaces and blocs.
Conspicuous clarity
His conspicuous clarity distinguishing individuals from human beings is remarkable as it posits a different identity for the latter. Dugin claims the untamed authority of liberalism idealising individuality is likely to threaten humanity where those who reject individualist ethos will be regarded as fascist. While making the palpable difference between the two, Dugin states
“The individual is the product of subtraction of the personality from the human being, the result of the liberation of the human unit from any bonds and collective structures“.
Dugin’s ‘Fourth Political Theory’ should be understood in its philosophical orientation, which evokes thinking from French thinker Rene Gunion to the last great philosopher of the Western world, Heidegger. Dugin’s fascination with Gunion reveals the foundations of his support for the uniqueness of Russian orthodoxy. Inspired by Vedanta and Neo-Platonic philosophy, Gunion, a renowned French thinker in the late 19th century, advocates that all civilisations and peoples should return to the spiritualism of their traditional cultural archetypes. Dugin’s primacy for Russian orthodoxy and constant denial of becoming a part of the globalist agenda, which he described as ‘Atlantism’ is an offshoot of his wider reading of René Gunion.
In addition to his appetite for traditionalism, Dugin’s ideas align with the philosophy currently advocated by Russian leader Putin. Some may argue that his views justify Russian aggression in the Ukraine through a strong nationalist lens; however, they can also be seen as part of an enthusiastic ideological project aimed at preserving Russia’s unique identity as a distinct civilisation. This approach is distinctly different from Peter the Great’s efforts in the 18th century to emulate Western patterns or from Yeltsin’s monumental failures in the late 20th century.
Moreover, Dugin does not consider Russia’s destiny to be rooted in its Asiatic past, despite the country’s historical subjugation under the Mongols for centuries. Instead, his vision for Russia’s unique future is encapsulated in the concept of ‘Neo-Eurasianism’, which traces back to the 19th-century national awakening in Russian thought. To secure Russia’s victory over the Globalist West, Dugin believes that the country should embrace a national idea that can guide all its policies. He has openly criticised Putin’s lack of initiative during the Crimean crisis in 2014, noting that Putin failed to mobilise effective propaganda. This critique is a central theme of Dugin’s 2012 book, Putin Versus Putin.
Catalyst role
It is believed that wars are only fought with bullets and bombs- but the gravity of an idea can play a catalyst role in the events lying beyond the strength of soldiers. The ideology formed by Dugin is a bulwark promoting Russia’s encounter with the West. Two years ago, in Moscow, Daria Dugin was killed in an explosion, later it was found that Daria’s death was a political assassination authorised by the Ukrainian Government and US intelligence believed that the real target was Alexander Dugin. It is a sheer surprise that Ukraine targets a simple philosopher in the middle of a war, which is going on for the nation’s survival. The simple answer is the power of idea embodied by the scholarly opinions articulated by Dugin is profoundly appealing with its bewitching charm to those who are looking for a path to challenge the globalist agenda and the ultimate victory of Liberalism.
The writer is a lecturer at the Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka
