The internal political bloc of the presidential administration recently organized meetings with ultra-conservative philosophers and historians to discuss ideological issues, and Oleksandr Dugin, Oleksandr Prokhanov and Vardan Baghdasaryan are primarily invited to these conversations, sources close to the presidential administration reported, quoted by Meduza. According to Meduza’s sources, until recently the Russian president was only superficially familiar with the views of what was called Putin’s ideologue, but everything changed after the murder of Dugin’s daughter Daria in late August 2022.

Meetings in the Kremlin with these ultra-conservative figures are aimed at creating ideological contours and specific theses that Vladimir Putin uses in public speeches.

Who are the three ideologues of the Kremlin?

• Oleksandr Dugin is a Eurasian philosopher, political scientist, one of the most outstanding ideologists of the “Russian world”. Since the beginning of the 2000s, he has supported the idea of ​​creating a Eurasian Union, which should include all the countries of the former USSR. One of his main theories is built around the confrontation between Russia and the “collective West”. Many thinkers accuse Dugin of fascist views.
• Oleksandr Prokhanov is a “patriot” writer, editor-in-chief of “Zavtra” newspaper. In 1991, he was a supporter of GKChP. Author of the concept of “atomic Orthodoxy” – a state that combines features of Soviet Stalinism and Orthodox Tsarist Russia. Supporter of imperialism.
• Historian Vardan Baghdasaryan is less known to the general public than Dugin and Prokhanov. He is part of the group of employees of Prokhanov’s Stalinist newspaper “Zavtra” and used to communicate closely – and even published joint books – with the former head of the Russian Railways, Volodymyr Yakunin.
• Baghdasaryan often writes about the clash of civilizations, and he calls Donbas “the civilizational frontier of Russia.”

• In addition, according to Meduza sources, the Kremlin began “consulting” with the founder of the Tsargrad channel, the “Orthodox oligarch” Konstantin Malofeev.

According to Kremlin interlocutors, Malofeev, Dugin, Prokhanov and Baghdasaryan should help the Kremlin “feel some contours of the new ideology.”

Both the head of the Kremlin political bloc, Serhiy Kiriyenko, and his close entourage, for example, the head of the State Council Affairs Department, Oleksandr Kharytsev, and the head of the Public Projects Department, Serhiy Novikov, meet with “ideologues.” “.

Putin became “seriously interested” in Dugin’s personality after the death of his daughter

According to a source close to the leadership of the United Russia party, Dugin and Prokhanov cooperated with the Kremlin before, for example, in the late 2000s, when the political bloc of the Presidential Administration was headed by Vladislav Surkov. But in recent years these contacts have been irregular.

But now, according to “Meduza” sources, Dugin and Prokhanov got a new role. If earlier they had to work for a certain (ultraconservative) public, now they help in the formation of a fundamental Russian ideology.

“Now the vocabulary of Dugin and Prokhanov is in Putin’s mouth,” he told a Kremlin insider.

He added that he often exaggerated Alexander Dugin’s influence in front of the media. For example, Western publications have repeatedly called him the main ideologist or even the “brain” of Putin. However, according to Meduza sources, until recently the Russian president was only superficially familiar with the views of the philosopher. Everything changed due to the murder of Dugin’s daughter Daria at the end of August 2022.

According to Meduza’s sources, Putin was “seriously interested” in the figure of Dugin – he sent the philosopher a telegram of sympathy and strongly approves of AP’s contacts with the Eurasian. A month after the murder of Daria Dugina, on September 30, Putin used one of Dugin’s favorite terms – “Anglo-Saxons” – for the first time in a public speech.

It will be recalled that the philosopher Oleksandr Dugin, in his first speech after the funeral of Daria Dugina’s daughter, said that Russia is opposing the devil in Ukraine, while it is fighting on the side of Archangel Michael.