Prominent Russian Philosopher Alexander Dugin On Ukraine War: Russian-Western Relations Are Just Beginning; The West Must Take Us Seriously Now, Engage In Real Dialogue

On March 12, 2022, prominent Russian anti-liberal philosopher Alexander Dugin was interviewed by Russian journalist Vladimir Solviev on his show, "Soloviev Live." Speaking about the war in Ukraine, Dugin said that relations with the West are not ending due to the conflict, but are actually "just beginning," since the West will now take Russia seriously, will respect it as a "pole" in a "multipolar world," and will no longer impose its own interests and values on Russia. The interview was published on the Russian website smotrim.ru. For more about Alexander Dugin, see MEMRITV clip no 7839, in which he came out in support of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons as a deterrence against the United States.

Host: "We have Alexander Gelyevich Dugin, the leader of the International Eurasian Movement. Good evening, Alexander Gelyevich. We have reached the stage of a complete break of relations with the West. We have come to certain point in our development, in the development of our country, in which [the West has] made certain decisions and choices for us. What should we do next?"

Alexander Dugin: "Well, I believe that relations with the West are in fact just beginning. If we talk about civilizations that are peers, that are balanced, and that are respectful towards each other, then now is actually high time to interact with the West and talk to it. It's just that before, the West tried to simply speak for us, on our behalf.

"It was imposing its models on us and demanded that we play their games. I've told you many times that I met with Brzezinski in Washington back in 2005. There was a chessboard between us. I asked Zbigniew: 'Do you know, Mr. Brzezinski that chess is a game for two?' He said: 'No, I don't.' That is, [the West] was building a relationship with us as if we were not present.

"They would move white pieces, then turn [the chessboard] and move black pieces. And now, suddenly, we have appeared. And we appeared with our own program, our own interests, values, and civilization. And they didn't like it very much that the chess game became a game for two. Putin said: 'No, I'm here, Russia is here, and you should take it into account.'

"That's what they're not used to. They flipped the chessboard over, they threw some pawns in our faces, they began insulting us. However, in fact, the game is just starting. It is just starting. We are now approaching a situation in which the dialogue with the West is becoming real. A full-fledged dialogue with the West is becoming possible.

"It won't be a dialogue that follows the previous scheme, like when we were conveying what they were saying. Now Russia has its own voice, its own stance and interests. Russia has its own civilization. When [Russian FM] Lavrov said that we were finally independent of the West and that now we will simply stop being dependent on the West... This means that we will become ourselves and will become interesting to the West.

"We will truly become subjects of dialogue, precisely. It seems to me that now this wave will pass, it will be removed from everywhere, and then they will gradually invite us back, provided we ourselves want it. That's what's important, [to turn to the West from a position of] sovereignty. Freely, meaningfully. China, in fact scrutinizes every detail.

"In some issues it turns to the West, while in other issues it rejects it outright. I think this is a very sound, bright position. Let's interact with the West as subjects, as equals. Let's justify our red lines. We'll draw our red lines, they'll draw theirs, and this dialogue can lead to very interesting results.

"However, we must be respected as a pole of the multipolar world. We must be respected as a sovereign civilization. We must be respected as a great power that also has its own voice in global politics. Once we achieve this recognition, we can truly discover the West."