War Against the "Empire of Lies": The Moral-Eschatological Perspective in Alexandr Dugin\u27s Geopolitical Thought and Putin\u27s "Special Military Operation"

Predmet rada je odnos Putinova opravdanja rata u Ukrajini, kao i njegovih vanjskopolitičkih i geopolitičkih stavova, s geopolitičkom misli ruskog filozofa Aleksandra Dugina. Od početka "specijalne vojne operacije" u veljači 2022. godine pobuđen je dodatni interes za razumijevanjem Duginovih geopolitičkih stavova i ruske svjetsko-povijesne misije, tj. njegova euroazijanizma, zbog čega je već ranije kontroverzni "Putinov mozak" postao čitano štivo zainteresiranih zapadnih javnosti. Dok su paralele između Duginovih tvrdnji i Putinovih, kao i uopće kremaljskih izjava zapanjujuće, u radu se nastoji prikazati njihova ideološka povezanost, radije nego li ikakav osobni utjecaj među njima. Cilj rada je filozofskog karaktera, a sastoji se u isticanju moralno-eshatoloških karakteristika Duginove geopolitičke misli i kritike Zapada, kao i njima komplementarnih karakteristika Putinova opravdanja rata u Ukrajini. Nakon toga, nudi se njihova kritika u svjetlu odnosa Duginova geopolitičkog i eshatološkog determinizma s jedne strane, i s druge strane, njegova zanemarivanja slobode djelovanja i odlučivanja koje su tim determinizmom isključene, a koje su nužni uvjet njegove moralne kritike Zapada.The subject of the paper is the relationship between Putin\u27s justification of the war in Ukraine, as well as his foreign policy and geopolitical views, with the geopolitical thought of Russian philosopher Alexandr Dugin. Since the beginning of the "special military operation" in February 2022 there has been a surge in interest for understanding Dugin\u27s geopolitical views and the Russian world-historical mission, his Eurasianism, because of which the already controversial "Putin\u27s brain" has become widely read in the West. While the parallels between Dugin\u27s claims and Putin\u27s, as well as Kremlin-issued statements in general, is staggering, the paper aims to show their ideological connections, rather than any possible personal relations between them. The goal of the paper is philosophical, and consists of highlighting the moral eschatological characteristics of Dugin\u27s geopolitical thought and his critique of the West, as well as the complementary characteristics of Putin\u27s justification of the war in Ukraine. Subsequently, the paper offers their critique in light of the relationship between Dugin\u27s geopolitical and eschatological determinism on the one hand, and on the other, his neglect of the freedom of action and decision making which are precluded by his determinism, but are necessary conditions for his moral critique of the West