Andres Herkel ⟩ The ideological foundations of Moscow and Washington's political madness

22nd March 2025, 12:06

Russian expansionism, which is ready to conquer neighboring countries, and American isolationism, which is giving the Russians free rein to do so, are two sides of the same coin. The assault on freedom and liberalism unites Aleksandr Dugin, mouthpiece of Russian imperialism, and Anton Vaino, a man of Estonian descent, with an overseas team that has set about reorganizing US foreign policy in the interests of the Kremlin with astonishing speed.

According to one possible theory, President Donald Trump is more of a front person and a tool. The game is being run by Vice President J. D. Vance and billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. At least in the brains of Thiel and Vance, a Jew of Odessa descent has crept in, who draws the border for Russia's sphere of influence at the English Channel... But let's examine this madness in detail.

JD Vance (R-OH) (Photo by Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) Photo: Kevin Dietsch

Russian émigrés remained pro-empire

When Estonia became independent and swiftly aligned itself with the West, Russia was in a state of turmoil – including ideologically. What was to be done? President Boris Yeltsin responded to this uncertainty by elevating the search for a "Russian idea" to a state-level initiative, apparently not realizing that he was holding Pandora's box – one that would later be opened by his successor, Vladimir Putin.

At first, Putin's Russia was seen as a kleptocratic state devoid of any guiding ideology. That view is no longer valid. While the ideology that has taken hold may not always be consistent, it is sufficiently inhumane and aggressive to fuel the political madness that manifested in the 2008 invasion of Georgia and the subsequent attacks on Ukraine. The "Russian idea" embodies authoritarian rule, spheres of influence politics, and the violent restriction of neighboring countries' sovereignty – it's as simple as that.

Where does it come from? At first, in the 1990s, a number of forgotten Russian émigrés were dug up, most of whom had been expelled by the Bolsheviks in 1922 on the so-called "Philosopher's Ship." Among them was Ivan Ilyin, later a favorite of Putin. Ilyin's "liberal dictatorship" and his search for a third way between totalitarianism and democracy sound like a bizarre idea rather than a very dangerous one. But Ilyin had a gimmick: he completely denied the existence of the Ukrainian nation and the possibility of Ukraine being a separate state. This has given rise to the claim that he was the forefather of Russian fascism, the theoretician proto-Putin.

Eurasianists, led by Prince Nikolai Trubetzkoy, a linguist, emerged as one of the most influential schools of thought among Russian émigrés. Initially, Trubetzkoy's worldview was not overly extreme, and his opposition to the West contained partially justified criticism of Eurocentrism. As he saw it, Europeans of that time viewed the world through a very self-centered lens, which led to colonialism and the denigration of non-Western societies and their cultures. Much of it one can agree with.

According to Trubetzkoy, the Russian character has been influenced by multiple elements: Finno-Ugric, Samoyedic, Turkic, Mongolian, and Manchu peoples. To keep all this together, a firm hand is needed, while Western individualism and liberalism are alien to the Eurasian mentality gathered around Russians.

The blind spot of Eurasianism is that Trubetzkoy and those like-minded with him don't consider it necessary to ask what these other nations in Russia's violent orbit think about the leading role of Russians. Do they really want to be there? In the opinion of Eurasianists, there is no question here, and the satellites' affiliation and participation in the Moscow-centered Greater Eurasia project is an axiom.

Trubetzkoy also wrote at length on Ukraine. Ukraine is doubly important for Russia: Kyiv as the cradle of Russian culture, and Ukraine as an area bordering the West, which must not be allowed to become Westernized. He devoted a separate article to the threat of Ukrainian separatism.

Nikolai Trubetzkoy Photo: Wikimedia Commons

There are Russian propagandists and conspiracy theorists who openly say that the new policy of the White House is either the result of Moscow's special operations or the brilliant work of "Trojans" who share Moscow's views.

It must be said in favor of Trubetzkoy that when the left-wing Eurasianists emerged and began to cozy up to the Bolsheviks, he broke away from the Eurasian movement – as did Ilyin, by the way. The linguist living in Vienna managed to condemn the Anschluss, which prepared the ground for World War II, before his death in 1938. However, it was largely from the seeds sown by him that genuine Russian fascism emerged in the form of Aleksandr Dugin, while Ilyin became the main figurehead of Ukrainophobia.

Russian political scientist and ideologue Alexander Dugin attends the forum "What kind of Ukraine do we need?" in Moscow, Russia June 1, 2023. REUTERS Photo: Maxim Shemetov

The Russian émigrés who had fled Bolshevism left behind no positive legacy that could have contributed to Russia's liberalization when the collapse of the Soviet Union created an opportunity for it. On the contrary, their intellectual heritage was later repurposed to justify aggressive expansionist madness.

A hundred years ago, some Russian émigrés began to see the Bolsheviks as allies because they liked the idea of restoring the empire to its former borders. Today, we witness a similar mindset. There are individuals – once persecuted as foreign agents and formerly supportive of Ukraine – who have suddenly begun to claim that it is the Russians who are being mistreated, while Putin is supposedly restoring Russia's greatness. Perhaps the most prominent figure expressing such views is journalist Yulia Latynina.

Dugin's obsessions became mainstream for Moscow

The philosopher Aleksandr Dugin has piled up a lot of exotic stuff in his head: traditionalism, geopolitical theories, various kinds of conspiracy theories, esoteric Nazism, Eurasianism, Orthodoxy, Slavic neo-paganism, the theory of the so-called conservative revolution, etc.

It is Dugin's geopolitics that is of interest to us. It was not blood, race, administrative control or religion that made one branch of the Slavs Russians after mixing with Finno-Ugric peoples, he finds. This people, its "open soul," was primarily shaped by the boundless expanses of the Eurasian continent. Russians can only exist as a nation if spatial-cultural expansion continues, and according to Dugin, it has a planetary character. As such, he considers the Russian state to be the bearer of the Absolute Idea, very much as an embodiment of Hegel's philosophy.

For Dugin, Joseph Stalin was a practitioner of Eurasianism – a statesman of great capabilities. The human losses that Stalin is criticized for are irrelevant, as narrow-minded humanism and Western-invented human rights must yield to the Absolute Idea.

Dugin wrote decades ago that Ukraine's statehood poses a major threat to the Eurasian idea. The continued existence of a unitary Ukrainian state must not be allowed. Dugin has also regarded the Caucasus as a crucial region for Eurasia's future, arguing that it is best if it stops being made up of nation-states and evolves as a confederation loyal to Russia. Western influences must be completely eliminated from the region.

Unlike the "Trojan" conspiracy theory, the "puppet master" theory does not consider Trump to be the leader of the process. He is more of a powerful tool who must be utilized to push through one's own set of ideas.

He has taken a little more lenient view on the Baltic states and Moldova, which – for now (and we emphasize, for now) – remain within the sphere of influence of Germany and Romania respectively, and are not urgent goals for Russia.

Dugin's influence on Putin and the Kremlin's top leadership has been assessed in different ways. He has been seen as "Putin's brains," but also as a fringe figure who makes a big deal of his role. The truth seems to be that Dugin is a rather unsuitable figure for the inner circle of power. His political activity has been in smaller associations, such as the former National Bolshevik Party led by Eduard Limonov and later the Eurasian movement and party. Dugin has been supportive of Putin's foreign policy, but has mostly opposed Russia's economic policy, particularly because of the neoliberal influences that have previously manifested themselves there.

However, if we look at Russia's wars in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine, they seem to have followed Dugin's playbook. His 1997 book "Foundations of Geopolitics" has been used for years in Russian higher education institutions, especially military colleges. Dugin is also considered the ideological father of the annexation of Crimea.

If we look reality in the face, he can in no way be regarded as a bohemian esoteric and a quiet fascist – Dugin's obsessive worldview has long become mainstream for Moscow.

Surkov invented sovereign democracy, Vaino invented the nooscope

Unlike Dugin, the heads of the Russian presidential administration are practitioners of power. Vladislav Surkov was the head of the president's administration from 2008 to 2011 and held other important positions in Putin's entourage until 2020.

Vladislav Surkov. AFP PHOTO Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV

Unlike Dugin, Surkov is by nature a gamer and a hedonist. He began his career as a lobbyist for oligarchs before joining President Boris Yeltsin's administration and later transitioning into Putin's apparatus. It is unclear whether Surkov initially had any firm beliefs about Ukraine, but as he became Putin's chief ideologist, he crafted the key narratives that were used when Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014.

In 2005-2006, he came up with the idea of so-called sovereign democracy, which essentially meant that Russia would be ruled by a heavy hand, democratic institutions would exist, but under strict control.

Surkov is the recognizable prototype of Italian political scientist Giuliano da Empoli's novel "The Wizard of the Kremlin" (2022), a cynical master of the art of life who is ready for anything.

Anton Vaino, head of Putin's administration since 2016, appears as the opposite of Surkov: media-shy and inconspicuous, rarely expressing his own opinions. Even his voice is seldom heard in public. Yet, Vaino is one of the most influential figures in Russia. We can only speculate that as the grandson of former Estonian Communist Party leader Karl Vaino, whose family left Estonia in 1988, he harbors a similar resentment over the Soviet Union's collapse as Putin does.

Vaino's invisibility keeps his worldview largely concealed, but one key detail follows him – a detail that likely reveals quite a bit about how today's Kremlin perceives society and governance.

Anton Vaino. EPA/ALEXEY NIKOLSKY / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT Photo: ALEXEY NIKOLSKY / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL

In 2012, Vaino published an article titled "Capitalization of the Future" in the scientific journal Voprosy Ekonomiki i Prava (Issues of Economics and Law, 2012, No. 4), which introduces a technology for managing society. The previous year, he co-authored an article titled "Market Code." Central to these writings is a hypothetical device or method that enables the monitoring and effective control of activities in the "noosphere," or the public thought space.

The theoretical basis of the articles appears to be Plato's philosophy and the noosphere theory of Soviet academician Vladimir Vernadsky. The writings are saturated with large block diagrams illustrating large-scale datasets and their use. Vaino is convinced that the analysis of electronic databases using the nooscope will make society and the prevailing moods within it completely controllable. Naturally, the nooscope would be operated by the elite, to whose upper echelon Vaino himself belongs.

People with academic backgrounds who have analyzed Vaino's articles find them unscientific and utopian, and that the implementation of the ideas expressed in them poses a threat to society. However, Vaino claimed at the time that the nooscope was already being developed.

Although we haven't heard much about the nooscope lately (maybe it's a state secret?), it is pretty clear that today's Russia is based on the idea of a controlled world, and various influence operations are being used to try to control other countries, including the United States.

The Trojan operation in the United States

I don't know whether the United States is currently being directed from the Kremlin or if other factors favorable to Russia's current leadership are determining the changes of course in the US. However, there are Russian propagandists and conspiracy theorists who openly say that the new policy of the White House is either the result of Moscow's special operations or the brilliant work of "Trojans" who share Moscow's views.

One such person is political scientist Igor Panarin, who gained attention a quarter of a century ago with his prediction that the US would disintegrate in 2010. Although this did not happen, we now see the disintegration of the United States' previous policies. Panarin's video posts are filled with great enthusiasm about the changes happening in the United States.

Panarin on March 1: The Trojan operation in America is going fantastically. Moscow is not involved, only Kirill Dmitriev, politician of the new Trojan formation, is keeping an eye on things. Trump's team is solving global geopolitical problems without a single shot, without any human casualties. The Russophobic project is completely dismantled, a powerful blow has been dealt to the globalists, and their money is being taken away.

Panarin on March 3: The Trojans will also win in Russia, this is the Patrushev line and includes Kirill Dmitriev. Patrushev said that we need to negotiate with Trump, completely sidelining London and Brussels. This has happened. Trump's team is successfully working against Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, and it seems that Trump's special forces will eventually solve the Zelenskyy problem.

Panarin on March 5: Trump delivered a historic speech in the US Congress on the anniversary of Stalin’s death – it was absolutely ideological and in the spirit of the great Stalin. With this speech, Trump became the world's spiritual leader; he is changing the vector of civilization. Trump is the true "Father of the People."

Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev attends a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2022. REUTERS Photo: Maxim Shemetov

If we look reality in the face, Aleksandr Dugin can in no way be regarded as a bohemian esoteric and a quiet fascist – his obsessive worldview has long become mainstream for Moscow.

Panarin on March 10: Trump's doctrine is developing as if according to my predictions. This includes taking in Canada as the 51st state of the US and sidelining the British. A new Yalta agreement is coming, where Russia, together with the US and China, will divide the world into spheres of influence.

Panarin's talk about Trojans who have taken over America from within and their kinship with Russian Trojans may seem strange. He is not the most important Russian propagandist, but he is a man who has been training Russia's new generation – politicians, diplomats, etc. for years. He shapes the way people think.

Michael Flynn. REUTERS Photo: Jonathan Ernst

Panarin considers General Michael Flynn, who served as the White House national security advisor for three weeks during Trump's previous presidency, to be one of the main leaders of the American Trojans. Flynn was forced to leave when his relations with Russia and the Russian ambassador in Washington, on which the general had provided false information, came to light. Important Trojans include multi-billionaire Elon Musk, Vice President J. D. Vance, and others.

March 11, 2025, Washington, District Of Columbia, USA: Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, looks on as United States President Donald Trump speaks in front of Tesla vehicles at the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 11, 2025. President Trump has said he will buy a Tesla to support Tesla and Elon Musk after recent attacks on Tesla charging stations and calls for boycotts of Tesla products (Credit Image: © Samuel Corum - Pool Via Cnp/CNP via ZUMA Press Wire) Photo: Samuel Corum - Pool via CNP

Trojans seem to be one possible way of explaining the turbulent processes in the United States. This is not necessarily correct and there are certainly elements of conspiracy theory in this, but both Russian social analysis and Trumpist thinking have always been susceptible to conspiracy theories.

In his first term, Trump was still guided by old-school Republican advisers. After the trials and the attack on the Capitol in January 2021, old-school Republicans have left or been kicked out of Trump's orbit and he is surrounded by an entirely new set of people. We have to ask how they see the world. If they are not guided by Vaino's Nooscope or the special operations of Russia's former top spy Nikolai Patrushev, where do their ideas come from?

Puppet masters and the Thiel-Yarvin techno-fascism

On February 22, pro-Ukrainian analyst Yuri Shvets presented a major report suggesting that the people behind Trump's return were a small but effective group of tech billionaires, led by Peter Thiel. Musk is also associated with the group, but rather a separate free molecule. Vance, however, is a creature of Thiel's own creation. He used to work as Thiel's servant and it was Thiel who proposed him to Trump as vice president.

Peter Thiel. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File) Photo: Rebecca Blackwell

The main desire of that bunch of people – Shvets also calls them "puppet masters" – is to get rid of the restrictions that democratic countries impose on technological development and especially on the use of artificial intelligence. The liberal order must be replaced, and an extensive and detailed plan known as Project 2025 has been developed for this purpose. It was compiled by the Republican think tank Heritage Foundation, which the Trumpists took over in 2021, placing their own man, Kevin Roberts, at the helm.

Behind the thinking of Thiel and Vance is the self-proclaimed blog philosopher Curtis Yarvin, a descendant of Jews who fled Odessa about a century ago. Yarvin is extremely hostile towards Ukraine; he considers the Ukrainian language to be secondary and Ukraine to be a country unworthy of support. In an interview with the British publication The Spectator, Yarvin said that the "red line" Americans should have regarding Putin does not run along the Dnipro River, but rather at the English Channel.

In Yarvin's opinion, America's experiment with democracy has failed. First and foremost the "Brahmins" class that has taken the lead and has begun to preach so-called progressive values needs to be removed. Instead, a system needs to be built that stops squandering resources and is not stupidly democratic, but can be likened to the management of large corporations. The system must be headed by a CEO-monarch with unlimited power, authorized by the major shareholders.

Vaino is convinced that the analysis of electronic databases using the nooscope will make society and the prevailing moods within it completely controllable.

According to Shvets, Yarvin's idea simultaneously resembles Karl Marx's "Capital," Hitler's "Mein Kampf," and Lenin's works. What connects him to Marx is primarily the idea that the means of production must be completely taken over. The way Yarvin and Thiel envision the governance of society can be briefly described as techno-fascism. People are divided into an elite, who must rule, and a useless mass. The useless could be turned into biofuel, but since that is not humane, Yarvin offers another solution – they should be sent to vegetate in virtual reality.

This line of thinking may seem very harsh, but it is important to note that the mass dismissal of civil servants, the purging of academic institutions and the dismantling of the so-called mainstream media are all ideas directly advocated by Yarvin. And the work seems to be in full swing.

A more lenient interpretation would describe Yarvin's vision as libertarian authoritarianism, where a significant degree of personal freedoms remains, but welfare and social safety nets are eliminated. However, politics is one area where freedom does not apply, as political leadership must be efficient and therefore authoritarian.

***

It is worth noting that Dugin has already praised Yarvin, and Yarvin's brand of techno-utopianism – if not outright techno-fascism – shares similarities with the governance model envisioned by Vaino's "miracle machine."

What is truly happening in the United States, and to what extent Russian information operations have influenced it, remains unclear. Likewise, the ultimate outcome of these developments is still uncertain. Thiel-Yarvin's thinking also includes the idea that Europe must be completely abandoned –otherwise, "harmful" democratic ideas might seep back into the United States. This, in turn, echoes the Trojan conspiracy theory, which argues that America must first and foremost free itself from the ideological grip of Brits that lasts to this day.

Who are the people behind the changes now unfolding? I believe the picture is quite diverse, but fundamentally, Americans likely fall into similar archetypes as Russians. There are ideological fanatics, like Dugin, and utopians who transfer technological engineering to society, like Vaino. Finally, there is also a large group of opportunists, conformists, and cynics – those always ready to trade worldview for a comfortable life, just like Surkov.

I believe that the latter are the most dangerous, and if bad circumstances coincide, there can be quite a lot of them.

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Andres Herkel ⟩ The ideological foundations of Moscow and Washington's political madness

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