How Putin adapted, and distorted, Alexander Dugin's favourite political playbook?
In 1997, a book was published with the support within the Russian Ministry of Defence. This book was written by Alexander Dugin, a neo-fascist and ultranationalist Russian, whose worldview has been skewed and one-sided at best. But his book has become one of the best sellers within Russia and it has become the powerful tool of Russian military and political education that would go on to dominate the Russian government for next decades. That book? Foundations of Geopolitics. The book, written by Dugin, underlined one thing: alliances and annexation. In Dugin's argument, Russia's future has to be dictated in the hand of strongman, and to rout out every kind of American and British influence. He also called for Europe to be settled under Russian term, meaning Finlandisation, while encouraged, at least, the regimes of Turkey, Iran and China to be freed of doing actions as long as they don't antagonise Russia. To make the explanation short: Dugin encouraged Russia to take firmer...