The withdrawal of Russian troops from Cherson is eroding the trust of nationalist war advocates in Putin – chief ideologue Alexander Dugin is now openly critical.
Moscow – The elite around Vladimir Putin sometimes has pithy nicknames. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is called “Putin’s bloodhound” and Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin “Putin’s cook”. Alexander Dugin received the more flattering title “Putin’s Brain”. Dugin is considered to be arch-conservative and champions, among other things, the idea of a “Eurasian Union”, a federation of several countries “from Dublin to Vladivostok”. The philosopher and political scientist rose to become one of the Kremlin’s chief ideologues and supports the Ukraine war. But after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson, he openly criticized the leadership in Moscow.
Kherson Withdrawal: Criticism of ‘Putin’s Brain’ May Indicate Change
Putin was well aware of what would be at stake domestically if he pulled out of Kherson. As recently as September, he had forbidden his generals to withdraw from the region, contrary to military advice to the contrary. But now Cherson was apparently untenable for the Russian troops. It seems that the Kremlin chief had brought the nationalists Prigozhin and Kadyrov into line beforehand. While the two hardliners had already been criticizing the Kremlin, they spoke of a “difficult but necessary decision” when it came to withdrawing from Cherson. But harsh criticism came from Alexander Dugin on Friday instead. This may indicate a shift among Russian nationalist ideologues.
Dugin’s criticism points to an ideological break between pro-war advocates and Putin
The Russian political scientist Dugin is also personally affected by the Ukraine war. His daughter Darya Dugina, an ardent supporter of the Russian invasion, was killed in a car bomb attack in August. “Kherson has surrendered. If you don’t care, then you’re not Russian […]”It was said after the nationalist’s withdrawal became known. The philosopher and political scientist demanded in a publication published on Friday Online contribution on the portal Tsargradthe war must become “a war of the people in the full sense of the word.”
Officially, there is still talk of a “military special operation” in Russia, and up to 15 years in prison for “false information”. The US war experts at the think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) go in their current analysis from Saturdaythat Russia’s withdrawal from the city of Kherson will lead to an ideological rift between the pro-war and the Russian president. The withdrawal “undermines confidence in Putin’s commitment and ability to fulfill his war promises,” according to the ISW analysis.
Alexander Dugin also drops a reference to “killed king” in a long list of criticism
Russian pro-war Dugin directed a long list of criticisms of Vladimir Putin. Among other things, he accused the Kremlin chief of “not having upheld the Russian ideology”. According to the analysis of the US war experts of the ISW, it would be about Russia’s responsibility for the defense of allegedly “Russian cities” such as Cherson, Belgorod, Kursk, Donetsk and Simferopol.
The philosopher also noted that “an autocrat has the responsibility of saving his nation all by himself or suffering the fate of ‘the king of the rain,’ a reference to Sir James Frazer’s The Golden Bough, in which a king was killed because of its inability to bring rain in a drought,” the ISW analysis said. At the same time, the political scientist also took Army General Sergey Surovikin out of the line of fire, stressing that he was not responsible for the political decision to withdraw from Kherson. Dugin also formulated somewhat vaguely that “the limit has been reached.”
In his criticism of Putin, Kremlin ideologue Dugin also mentions the use of nuclear weapons
Dugin went one step further with his public criticism. He accused the Russian government of representing a “wrong” ideology because it was afraid to commit to the “Russian idea”, summed up the ISW war experts. Dugin’s statements would therefore also have referred to the use of tactical nuclear weapons, which he vaguely described as “the end”. The Kremlin ideologue also noted that the changes to the military campaign have so far had no impact on the course of the war. In his view, Russia must commit to “the Russian idea” instead of pursuing the “stupid” use of nuclear weapons. The last resource is ideology, Dugin continues.
All in all, the ISW war experts viewed this open criticism as a possible change in the ranks of nationalist ideologues. There are increasing doubts among Russian nationalists about Putin’s commitment to “Russian ideology”. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Putin to appease sections of the highly ideological pro-war advocates because the Russian military is unable to achieve its maximalist goals – to overthrow the Ukrainian government and conquer all of Ukraine.
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