The West Has Moved On to Operation Punishment

The self-consciousness of the modern ruling elite in Russia is completely disproportionate and inadequate to the criticality of the historical situation. 

by Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin

Until recently, it was said at all levels of government that Russia is part of Western civilisation, a European country, and indeed it is, it is a child of the West, it is obvious that the West is older, more central and more responsible to its own civilisation, or one can even say that the West is a father, a parent. According to the formula ‘Russia is a European country’, the West taught Russia what it could do and what it could not do. Yes, the baby was huge and formidable but, from the West’s point of view, wild, stupid and probably sick.

Naive hopes for the red lines

So Russia decided to rebel, but the rebellion remains in some ways surprisingly childish. Throughout the radicality of the break-up, Moscow never fails to cast an imploring and frightened look in the direction of its elders, even as it repeats: ‘It’s over, you tricked me, I’m leaving the family…’.

This is how a five-year-old boy tries to leave home, but keeps looking back to see if his parents will run after him, in the hope that they will. And that everything will return to normal.

St Basil's Cathedral in Red Square is a Russian icon © yulenochekk / Getty Images

Hence the naive hopes of red lines, of agreements on wheat and ammonia, of not accepting Ukraine into NATO and finally starting to negotiate. The centre of thought, the issue, despite the SMO, is still somewhere outside, more precisely in the West. Technology, progress, money, rules… The decision centres are there. We are outraged by these decisions, but how can a rebellious child rely on himself: our childish elite, completely liberal, i.e. dependent on the West?

It is time to ask our elders for help

The West looks at the behaviour of a child gone mad as a parent and doesn’t know what to do, but since all boundaries in the context of Western civilisation and its rules have been crossed, not by the West, but by us who have decided to challenge globalism and prove that we are independent and mature enough to start sharing our property, then in the eyes of the West what is happening in Ukraine can be called Operation Punishment.

It is time to call the Russian elders, not the children of the Russian Federation created in 1991, which never materialised, but the fathers of the Third Rome, the Russian Empire and the USSR. They, the Russian adults, never considered Russia as part of the West and, of course, realised that they were subjects of a special civilisation separate from the West, be it imperial Orthodox or Soviet, and behaved accordingly.

We are at war with an army of zombies

However, such a realisation entails not only a radical change in the prevailing worldview, but also a rapid turnover of elites. We are at war with an adult enemy. Civilized adult, even if he has put an army of zombies on our backs.

These maniacs are just an avatar, controlled by reasonable and sober operators. Special Operation is not a game, it is a war, and war is the business of grown men. The boys have gone to the front and now have no other perspective but to grow up quickly. Some of them have already passed this stage but, on the whole, it is the pro-Western infantilism of the system that remains intact. Hence our failures, as well as the marches and rebellions.

The self-consciousness of the modern ruling elite in Russia is completely disproportionate and inadequate to the criticality of the historical situation. After all, the pathological flourishing of corruption is a consequence not only of greed, but also of complete irresponsibility. It is the way an unintelligent infant treats objects and food: he throws everything within his reach into his mouth.

There is therefore only one way out: call the Russian fathers and start growing up quickly. If we have proclaimed ourselves a civilisation-state, we either begin to correspond to it (and we have historical experience), or we will be torn to pieces.

Translation from Russian by Lorenzo Maria Pacini

Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin is a Russian political theorist known for his nationalist views and controversial ideologies. He advocates for a Eurasian empire, challenges Western liberal democracy, and promotes a multipolar world order. Dugin's ideas have influenced nationalist and far-right movements, but his radicalism and alleged connections to fringe groups have drawn criticism. Despite the controversy, he remains a significant figure in the study of Russian political thought and geopolitics.