dugin putin ukraine what the kremlin ideologue says

Since the end of August, Ukraine has witnessed the almost uninterrupted success of the kyiv army’s counter-offensives. The Russians retreat. Yesterday November 11 also from Kherson, annexed to the September farce referendum. And Putin finds himself in the crosshairs of ultranationalists in Moscow.

A post on Telegram – later deleted – by Putin’s so-called ‘ideologue’, philosopher Alexandr Dugin, is causing a stir. His daughter, Darya Dugina, was murdered in an attack in Moscow in August, allegedly by Ukrainians. Now, however, Dugin is attacking Vladimir Putin head-on, indirectly blaming him for the military defeats Russia repeatedly suffered in Ukraine. After nearly 9 uninterrupted months of conflict, experts calculate 100,000 dead per side between the Ukrainian and Russian armies.

Alexander Dugin. Photo Ansa / Epa Maxim Shipenkov

In an autocracy “the sovereign is given absolute plenitude of power to save us all”, therefore “full powers in the event of success. But also total liability in the event of bankruptcy”. So, on Telegram, Alexandr Dugin after retirement in Kherson. “Nothing against Surovikin”, that is, the head of military operations in Ukraine. “The blow is not intended for him. It’s a blow to you-you-know-who,” Dugin added in reference to the Russian president, who he said should also pay with his life. In the very long Telegram post, Dugin uses heartfelt tones regarding the loss of Kherson.

Putin as “Rain King”

“A Russian City, Capital of a Region (Kherson, ed.), Abandoned, Delivered”. And now “Russians are crying and suffering,” he wrote. And to point out who is responsible for this failure, Dugin reflects on Russian power. In which the “sovereign is given absolute power to save us all at a critical moment”. And “if to do this he surrounds himself with bullshit or spits on social justice, it’s unpleasant, but it’s justified to save us”. On the contrary, “if he does not save us, his fate is that of the Rain King”, that is to say to be killed, adds Dugin. And he does so by quoting an essay by Scottish anthropologist and religious historian, James Frazer.

Vladimir Poutine. Photo Ansa / Epa Sergej Bobylev

Ukraine, winter is upon us

The fact is that Moscow planned to conquer kyiv in a few days, at the end of last February. But in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance and the massive support that kyiv received first and foremost from the United States and Britain, as well as other European countries, he had to start to withdraw. First from the north and the kyiv region, then from the Kharkiv region, in the northeast, finally from Donbass and now from the southern region of Kherson.

Ukraine, possible negotiations

Less unfavorable voices are now being raised about the negotiations with Ukraine. Signals come from Moscow to the West and the United States. Winter is upon us: it could be a useful break for the Russians to reorganize, but also for Putin’s internal enemies to overthrow him. And it may also be for this reason that the Tsar has made it known that he will not be going to the G20 in Bali, Indonesia on November 15. Better not to leave Moscow right away.

Ukrainians who lived in Kherson and left it due to Russian occupation celebrate in downtown Odessa, southern Ukraine, November 12, 2022. Photo Ansa/Epa Stringer