Does Putin Take His Cue from Alexander Dugin?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is said to have been motivated by various strategic calculations: fear of NATO expansion, concern over Ukraine’s westward drift, and Moscow’s confidence in its own oil heft and economic reserves. But this analysis risks overlooking the civilizational aspect of Vladimir Putin’s fateful decision. For the current conflict involves not only Ukraine but also a broader showdown between East and West. Instead of the Soviet Union, the U.S. is facing a Eurasian continent, with Russia as its soul. In geographic space, Eurasia covers the former Soviet empire, excluding the Baltic states, as well as Mongolia and parts of northwest China. And within this territory resides a great civilization—a Russian civilization—that represents the one true alternative to the decadent, globalized West.