Alexander Dugin, The Great Awakening, And Russian Higher Education Reform

I originally envisioned this article as a review of five semi-randomly selected books by esteemed Russian Professor Alexander Dugin. However, as my experience with mass surveys has sometimes proven murky, with me feeling like I give short shrift to someone or some part of the analysis, I decided to take a slightly different approach. Accordingly, herein I strongly recommend a set of books by Dugin, about Dugin, or associated with Dugin. After a brief discussion of theories, I then focus on one particular work, The Great Awakening vs. The Great Reset, a book that centers on more actionable facets of (post)modern life and society. Many people, especially people in the West, like hands-on orientation and examples. While the particular project is of a distinctly Russian character, it concerns a universal necessity, thus making it of inspirational interest to many parties worldwide. I think it would be most valuable to consider what’s going on in Moscow if one wants to enbetter similar systems elsewhere.

The five Dugin books are The Fourth Political Theory, The Rise Of The Fourth Political Theory, Political Platonism, Ethnosociology, and The Great Awakening vs. The Great Reset. All of my citations herein come from the EPUB digital editions as published by Arktos; a full bibliography follows at the end. 

I was tempted to include at least one book or argument critical of Dugin, but I found most of them to be disingenuous at best. The fact the Professor and his voluminous works are banned from Amazon tells those within and without the West all they really need to know. There is a reason why Dugin has been targeted with sanctions and worse: the Western globalist elites fear him. But why? Anyone who has watched his interviews with Tucker Carlson, Larry Johnson, or other journalists is left with the impression of a rational, pleasant, and ordinary man, albeit one gifted with extraordinary intelligence, intellectual capacity, and the willingness to use his ideas for the greater good. Therein lies the answer: the rulers of the West, being forever at war with God and man, cannot abide honest ideas or any pursuit of the truth. ​

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​Dugin And The Fourth Political Theory

Alexander Dugin, PhD, aka, the Philosopher, is a doctor of philosophy, sociology, and political science. The author of dozens of books, and the speaker of perhaps as many languages, he currently serves, among other capacities, as Director of the Ivan Ilyin Higher Political School at Moscow’s Russian State University for the Humanities. Yes, the center’s name has stirred minor controversy. Dugin has been known to make a few waves—the stern delight of traditionalists, horror for liberals. He is the father of Daria Dugina. He is a Russian institution and a global figure—both feared and sought after. He is also a man unusually capable of using his extraordinary talent for the betterment of mankind and the Glory of God.

Dugin is renowned as a philosopher, a theoretician, and a thinker. Not infrequently, such men are sometimes criticized for having, as we call it, a “pie in the sky” vision. Yet, as demonstrated herein, Dugin puts his ideas into common practice and thereby brings them to life. Many are the misconceptions about Dugin and his work, many of them intentional, demeaning, and deceptive. For instance, he is repeatedly referred to by the Western establishment as “Putin’s brain” or “Putin’s Rasputin” (usually by people who couldn’t tell the difference between Grigori and Valentin). Vladimir Putin is obviously gifted with great intelligence, as are the people in his administration. The concurrence of Dugin’s ideas and the direction of twenty-first century Russia is an interesting phenomenon. Whether his notions become general policy or if there is merely a commonality of interest and intent, it is undeniable he is at least helping shape public perception and policy. Herein, I will examine in more detail one such policy example concerning higher education.

Many people, particularly those whose traditions have been hijacked or muted by modernity, have fallen into the trap of expediency and simplicity, looking, essentially, for easy answers and turn-key solutions. There are solutions, and Dugin provides a roadmap to them, but they and their application vary according to the problem and the society or nation where the problem manifests. In this regard, or in answer to these kinds of misgivings, utilizing Dugin’s Fourth Political Theory might be well analogized to selecting the proper wrench for the adjustment of a particular mechanical part. With socio-political issues, the application of the Theory will necessitate consideration of the special needs and traditions of the subject society. 

The beauty of the tie-in concept of multipolarity is that it allows each civilization to assert itself independently—in contravention of the liberal, globalist West’s current one-size (fits none) mandate—in accordance with those needs and traditions. What works for Russia might be slightly different than what works for Iran or China. What works in those three civilizational states might be different from what is needed in Europe, Brasil, or South Africa. Dugin’s roadmap is valuable as it allows, via theoretical and practical political reorientation, a chance for the rediscovery of tradition and character, things that may have been lost or hidden in certain cultures. But just like selecting a wrench and using it, the process of turning political theory into practice requires commitment and effort.

Multipolarity is the opposite of the failed unipolar world domination by the United States and the Western liberal, financial capitalist, democratic system that emerged, in full, after World War Two, and that haughtily posited itself as “the end of history” after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of bipolar era. Multipolarity or, rather, multipolarization, is already underway, essentially becoming a bifurcation of the world into the West and the Rest. 

The Western globalist model is the fulfillment of the first political theory, Liberalism. Communism was the second theory, Fascism the third. The subject or main principle of Liberalism is the individual. While the idea has a certain libertarian appeal, it is and was a trap that allowed the atomization of man and his subsequent enslavement and torture. (You’re different. Just like everyone else. Now get in the cage…) The subject of Communism was class and the subject of Fascism, depending on who implemented it, was the nation-state or race. Liberalism defeated Fascism in 1945 and Communism, for all intents and purposes, in 1991. Now Liberalism's time is up, at least for those who see through its dead Enlightenment ideology of control, slavery, and death. As Dugin writes of his own country’s experience, “...Russia needs a new political idea. For Russia, liberalism does not fit, but communism and fascism are equally unacceptable. Consequently, we need a Fourth Political Theory.” Dugin, Alexander, The Fourth Political Theory, London: Arktos, 2012/2018, p. 8, EPUB edition.

Dugin’s Fourth Theory may be summarized as a rebellion against Liberalism, its “enlightened” modernity, and the underlying anti-human satanism at its heart. Here, for Western, especially American, readers, “liberalism” is discussed in the macro sense, about that hideous progressive development since the eighteenth century (with, of course, older roots). It encompasses what Americans consider Democrat-left liberals, Republican-right conservatives, and even libertarians. Most politically minded people in the West operate under some assumption of macro liberalism. This is why the wise minority among them now shun the conservative label, instead merely calling themselves traditionalists or something similar. Russian conservatives, some of them, get a pass as they are, in fact, truly concerned about preserving tradition and have actually conserved it. The Fourth Theory is a grand return to tradition, a concept that is different within each culture. The new principle or subject is society-focused Dasein, the German term popularized by philosopher Martin Heidegger meaning existence or total, holistic being. Dasein is a uniquely human abstraction that integrates the individual with his society, encompassing all relevant areas of life and culture. This is the polar opposite of Liberalism, which ultimately seeks to replace human existence, literally destroying humanity. The Fourth Theory merges, replaces, and overcomes as necessary the subjects of the previous theories. A brief outline of the Fourth Theory, taken by Dugin from his book, may be read in the Arktos Journal. A continuous working exposition of the Theory may be found on Dugin’s Fourth Political Theory website. ​

​What the Fourth Political Theory is, in terms of what it opposes, is now clear. It is neither fascism, nor communism, nor liberalism. In principle, this kind of negation is rather significant. It embodies our determination to go beyond the usual ideological and political paradigms and to make an effort to overcome the inertia of the clichés within political thinking. This alone is a highly stimulating invitation for a free spirit and a critical mind. I do not really understand why certain people, when confronted with the concept of the Fourth Political Theory, do not immediately rush to open a bottle of champagne, and do not start dancing and rejoicing, celebrating the discovery of new possibilities. The Fourth Political Theory, p. 24.

Much or even most of the world appears ready for new possibilities. Writing in April 2024 on his Dzen account about late martial developments the world over, and what they portend for the future, Dugin noted, “...the world will already be irreversibly multipolar.” It probably is now, with or without champagne. 

Dugin’s Rise of the Fourth Political Theory focuses more on the present and future of Eurasian existence through, naturally, a somewhat Russo-centric lens. Therein he continues to dismantle Western Liberalism, challenges it, and asserts the unique virtues of differing values not necessarily in line with, or under the thumb of those of the liberal globalists.

Why, properly speaking, did humanity adopt the values of [Liberal] freedom and democracy, human rights, the market economy, social progress, and technological development as universal? This is a fundamental question, which is practically never posed by the Western press. After all, if we look at the number of people living today on the planet, we will see that the great majority of them hold entirely different values. The market and democracy, for instance, do not emerge from the social and political history of Indian society, where even today the caste system is preserved. There are billions of such people. These values are not at all characteristic of the Chinese tradition, but there are another billion people in China. A billion Muslims have absolutely their own view on what to consider the highest value (here what is most important is fear of God and following of religious instructions, and only then everything else). The same can be said of the peoples of Africa, the East, and for that matter Russia. The values of the market, liberal democracy, and social progress in the sense in which the West gives them, are not at all self-evident for Russian history and Russian society, since in the vast majority of historical stages (as before the Revolution, so after it) Russians held to absolutely different value arrangements.

Values that seem universal to the contemporary European or American are absolutely not so for the contemporary Chinese, Indian, or Russian. They might be attractive or repulsive, but the main thing is that they are not universal. Nothing in the history of the greater part of mankind, excluding the experience of Western countries, testifies that these values grew everywhere independently and were not imposed in a colonial manner, practically by force. Dugin, Alexander, The Rise Of The Fourth Political Theory: The Fourth Political Theory Vol. II, London: Arktos, 2017, p. 127.

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Whether it was a pre-existing Western plan for the next phase of “universal” progress, or whether it was a tactical reaction against the bubbling global uprising of indignation, the scheme of the so-called Great Reset became patently obvious over the past decade or so. The adversaries of mankind literally and openly admit their intentions for the rest of us. “You’ll own nothing and be happy,” is a real quote taken from a 2016 World Economic Forum video presentation. More accurately stated, we’ll own nothing, have nothing, and be nothing, and they will be happy. It would represent a great reset to absolute, miserable dystopia. This is beyond madness; it is pure evil. But the people of the world, bless them, are not so easily corralled and culled. “The Great Awakening is the spontaneous response of the human masses to the Great Reset.” Dugin, Alexander, The Great Awakening vs. The Great Reset, London: Arktos, 2021, p. 22.

In this short, very readable, and action-inspiring work, Dugin early on explains the nature of the Great Reset:​

The main idea of the Great Reset is the continuation of globalisation and the strengthening of globalism after a series of failures: the conservative presidency of anti-globalist Trump, the growing influence of a multipolar world — especially of China and Russia, the rise of Islamic countries like Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and their withdrawal from the influence of the West. The Great Awakening vs. The Great Reset, p. 5.

In explaining the rising counter force against this dark vision for humanity’s future, Dugin notes, on page 20, that too many ordinary people the world over “have suddenly realised, like cattle before the slaughterhouse, that their fate has already been decided by their rulers and that there is no more room for people in the future.” 

It is not an exaggeration to claim or notice that the elites and the demons behind them do not want human beings anymore. Or, at least, they do not want beings still in touch with their human nature. In addition to bolstering their power over others, they seek to ruin and claim souls for their master below. “The Great Awakening against the Great Reset is humanity’s revolt against the ruling liberal elites. Moreover, it is the rebellion of man against his age-old enemy, the enemy of the human race itself.” Id., p. 22

Brief yet excellent attention is paid to how different groups are fighting back in different ways. The reader should remember this was written in 2021, before Russia began its military retaliation against the NATO Nazis, before the rise of the BRICS+ alliance became obvious to many, and before the hideous genocide in Gaza caused many more to critically rethink their world. Things are changing fast. But as usual, Dugin is ahead of the curve. And even when he’s not necessarily out front, he synthesizes, organizes, and labels various phenomena so as to give them clarity and a greater sense of applicability. He then delves deeper into the mission, strengths, and needs of his Russia:

Of course, even today’s Russia does not have a complete and coherent ideology that could pose a serious challenge to the Great Reset. In addition, the liberal elites entrenched at the top of society are still strong and influential in Russia, and liberal ideas, theories and methods still dominate the economy, education, culture and science. All of this weakens Russia’s potential, disorients society, and sets the stage for growing internal contradictions. But, on the whole, Russia is the most important — if not the main! — pole of the Great Awakening.” Id., p. 28 (double emphasis mine).

​In the Appendixes one finds a section, “Theoretical Principles of the Great Awakening (Based on the Fourth Political Theory),” which lists twenty-one points of both theory and action. Point Fifteen concerns the “new educational project”:

Finally, we need to act — to put these considerations (if you share them, if you agree with them) in some kind of practice. And the most important and central practice is in education. Because it is through education that liberals penetrate our society, pervert our children, destroy the very principles of cultures and countries, destroy and dissolve identities.  

The main struggle should be at the university level. Id., pp. 50-51 (emphasis mine).

Point Sixteen lists three types of people addressed by the proposed education reforms, three kinds of students in need of liberation from the prevailing liberal madness: 1) the philosophically inclined minority; 2) the political elites, activists, and warriors; and, 3) the majority of mankind, the good, ordinary countrymen and women. While the approaches for reaching and salvaging each type are necessarily presented in a broad brush fashion, the strokes paint a good and reasoned methodology, along with repeated specific justification for reform. All of it is a clarion call to dispense with liberal, anti-human indoctrination and corruption. 

My discussion continues with the first type Dugin seeks to reach, the “philosophers of the world.” As-is, they are generally starved for true tradition, philosophy, and education. ​

We need to promote this traditionalist education — including metaphysics, theology, medieval tradition, as well as non-Western systems of thought. And all kinds of philosophical tendencies that formally belong to the modern West, but that are different from it — for example, German classical philosophy starting with Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, or Nietzsche, Heidegger, the Conservative Revolution, traditionalism, Italian thought, artistic realms less affected by the modern Western capitalist and liberal principles...

All that should be saved and transformed into something accessible to the people throughout the world. Why is it so important? Because in the Western type of education, precisely these things are disappearing before our eyes. Today, there is no classical education in the best high schools and universities. They are losing this heritage. They are more and more involved in the cancel culture. They are trying to cancel everything in education. Id., P. 51.

​As for the sad proxy that passes for education in the West, I assert Dugin is 110% correct that what is currently offered is hollow and lacking at best. Liberals have succeeded in destroying just about everything of value. Most American schools, long devoid of Latin and Greek, are now losing English literacy and basic numeracy. Any fundamental understanding of grammar, logic, rhetoric, and mathematics has largely departed the schools at virtually all levels. The West might benefit from emulating or, at least, studying any successful reformation in Russia. By chance, Professor Dugin is ahead of this curve too.

​Russian Higher Education Reform

Under President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation, society-wide, is being reconstructed to place utmost emphasis on families and children. Children are, of course, the driving factor in determining whether any nation will continue to exist. Excellent education, as excellent as possible, is critical in making their lives better, more liveable, and more beneficial for them and their society. This year, in May, Leonid Savin penned a great article at Pogled about Russian intellectual standards and calls for refinement in keeping with Russian tradition and sovereignty. He pointed out that during the 1990s, under Western interference, existing Russian structures and curricula lost meaning, being replaced with debased nonsense. Savin also noted Dugin’s work as head of the new (as of 2023) Ivan Ilyin Higher Political School, Training and Scientific Center, at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH). The Center’s purpose is “the development and implementation of a new approach (a new socio-humanitarian paradigm) to the domestic teaching of humanitarian and social disciplines, aimed at the formation of the worldview of students based on the Russian civilizational identity and traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”

In January, Dugin remarked at RSUH’s Transformation of Humanitarian Education Seminar, “There has been a catastrophic degradation in Western historical science. .... This is evidenced by gender problems, postmodernism, and ultra-liberalism. We can study the West, but not as the ultimate universal truth. We need to focus on our own Russian development model.” It appears work is underway toward the needed restoration. In July, writing in the Arktos Journal, Dugin boldly proclaimed:

By the way, we are canceling the Unified State Exam (USE) and the Bologna system. That is the right decision. But who introduced these systems? Who forced them upon us, breaking the backs of dissenters in the process? Did they implement themselves? And why have we forgotten the names of those responsible? What positions do they currently hold? This same lack of accountability applies to many other issues as well.

More recently, Savin echoed the progress in an interview given to the Turkish outlet Adimlar: ​

But now we have a good chance because the unipolar era of American hegemony is over. We are now in a multipolar period that needs to be corrected. And we have a chance to strengthen our strategies and policies against the neoliberal order by respecting our traditions. Education is very important, so we must bring new curricula for our schools and universities and reorganize the educational process under our own umbrella, rejecting the Bologna process and all the destructive practices of student exchanges, Erasmus program, etc.

Dugin also had ardent support for his tradition-based educational ideas, and, I suspect, more than a little input, from his beloved daughter Daria:

If it depended on me, I would approve a strategy for education where a person would first be obliged to properly study, research, and understand their own tradition and only then turn to others. Already in school, it is necessary to fully acquaint oneself with Russian culture. And this should be continued at university. And only then, once a person has traversed this difficult path far enough, do they have the right to study others. Otherwise, they will remain halfhearted, they won’t understand their own traditions, and they will only pick up the surface of another. Dugina, Daria, Eschatological Optimism, Tucson: PRAV, 2023, p.117.

I Wonder: Things To Consider?

It appears to me that the new Center and Ilyin School fulfill part of Dugin’s twenty-one points from The Great Awakening vs. The Great Reset, perhaps especially pertaining to the philosophical class or, as he calls them, the “Brahmans.” Earlier this year, speaking at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, he described the liberal infiltration in social education as a “total occupation.” I wonder about specific developments or achievements in dislodging the occupation, asking, does the Center develop new curricula and standards, (re)educate educators, or both?

If my understanding is correct, Russian military education is already of very high quality and effectiveness. Still, I wonder if there is a similar effort underway concerning the second “warrior” class, as well as the third category, the countrymen.

RSUH’s main website asserts: “International cooperation is an important part of the internationalization strategy at RSUH. It is aimed at strengthening the university's competitive ability in Russia and abroad and its integration into the global education and research space.” I wonder if the meaning of this statement has changed, or will change, with the departure from the Bologna/Western system and perhaps a greater embrace of BRICS+ countries and the Global South.

Concerning President Putin’s Decree No. 702, on the admission of oppressed traditionalists into the Federation, I wonder if anyone has foreseen a near or long-term increase in Western student participation in Russian college education. And, if so, does anyone foresee any related challenges?

I understand that Russia’s economy is substantially different from America’s. Yet in America, loans for college education contributed to the mass financialization of the US economy from roughly 1950 to the present, including ridiculous increases in tuition prices (~10,000%). One effect of the US loans is that they inhibit family development (which we know is of critical importance in Russia). I was surprised to read this article from Moscow One about the potential development of such loans in Russia. I wonder if this is a growing trend of necessity. If so, I wonder if it is a wise or sustainable solution.

​Concluding Matters and Bibliography

The following books are highly recommended reading material: educational, eye-opening, and mentally entertaining:

Dugin, Alexander, The Fourth Political Theory, London: Arktos, 2012/2018;

Dugin, Alexander, The Rise Of The Fourth Political Theory: The Fourth Political Theory Vol. II, London: Arktos, 2017;

Dugin, Alexander, Political Platonism: The Philosophy Of Politics, London: Arktos, 2019;

Dugin, Alexander, Ethnosociology: The Foundations, London: Arktos, 2019;

Dugin, Alexander, The Great Awakening vs. The Great Reset, London: Arktos, 2021;

Millerman, Michael, Inside “Putin’s Brain”, Montreal: Millerman School (Independent, via Amazon), 2022;

Dugina, Daria, For A Radical Life: Meditations By Daria Platonova Dugina, Tucson: PRAV, 2024;

Dugina, Daria, Eschatological Optimism, Tucson: PRAV, 2023, and;

Savin, Leonid, Ordo Pluriversalis: The End of Pax Americana and the Rise of Multipolarity, London: Black House, 2020.

I would be remiss if I did not thank Daniel Friberg of Arktos for granting quote permission and for publishing Professor Dugin’s works in English.

Бог - наш защитник (Deo Vindice)

This piece was published at Perrin Lovett on November 22, 2024