Duginism: A “Neo-Traditionalist” Interpretation of Orthodoxy as the Foundation of the Russian Imperialist Ideology

Abstract

A. G. Dugin is a contemporary Russian philosopher and a leading intellectual in the school of thought known as “neo traditionalism.” However, to the broader public, he is better known as one of the foremost ideologists of the “Russian World,” seeking to justify the imperialist ambitions of the Russian state not only through philosophy but also through theology.
Although A. G. Dugin identifies himself as an Old Believer, his theological and philosophical views cannot be considered consistent with Orthodox Christianity. The issue lies not merely in the incompatibility of his calls for political action with Christian ethics but also in the fact that his views are rooted in the ideas of philosophers whose teachings directly contradict Orthodox theology.
This material, based on a qualitative content analysis of his works, media publications, open lectures, and public speeches, will examine the intellectual environment in which A.G. Dugin developed as a thinker and how his biography influenced the content of his theological and political writings. It will demonstrate that, under the influence of traditionalist ideas and the New Age interpretations of “spirituality,” Dugin constructed an ideology that justifies political actions that can be unequivocally condemned from the standpoint of Christian ethics.