Foundations of Geopolitics

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The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia is a

Klokotov stated that in the future the book would "serve as a mighty ideological foundation for preparing a new military command".[9] Dugin has asserted that the book has been adopted as a textbook in many Russian educational institutions.^[1] Former speaker of the Russian State Duma, Gennadiy Seleznyov, for whom Dugin was adviser on geopolitics,^[10] "urged that Dugin's geopolitical doctrine be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum".^[9]

The book may have been influential in

Eurasianist sentiments have been on the rise across Russian society since the ascent of Vladimir Putin in the country. In a poll conducted by Levada Center in 2021, 64% of Russian citizens identify Russia as a non-European country; while only 29% regarded Russia to be part of Europe.^[13]

In 2023, Russia adopted a Eurasianist,

In Foundations of Geopolitics, Dugin makes a distinction between "Atlantic" and "Eurasian" societies, which means, as Benjamin R. Teitelbaum describes it "between societies whose coastal geographical position made them cosmopolitan and landlocked societies oriented toward preservation and cohesion".[17] Dugin calls for the "Atlantic societies", primarily represented by the United States, to lose their broader geopolitical influence in Eurasia, and for Russia to rebuild its influence through annexations and alliances.^[3]

The book declares that "the battle for the world rule of Russians" has not ended and Russia remains "the staging area of a new anti-bourgeois,

Outside of Ukraine and Georgia, military operations play a relatively minor role except for the military intelligence operations Dugin calls "special military operations". The textbook advocates a sophisticated program of subversion, destabilization, and disinformation spearheaded by the Russian special services.^[18] The operations should be assisted by a tough, hard-headed utilization of Russia's gas, oil, and natural resources to bully and pressure other countries.^[9] The book states that "the maximum task [of the future] is the 'Finlandization' of all of Europe".^[9]

In Europe:

• Germany should be offered the de facto political dominance over most Protestant and Catholic states located within Central and Eastern Europe. Kaliningrad Oblast could be given back to Germany. The book uses the term "Moscow–Berlin axis".^[9]
• France should be encouraged to form a bloc with Germany, as they both have a "firm anti-Atlanticist tradition".^[9]
• The United Kingdom, merely described as an "extraterritorial floating base of the U.S.", should be cut off from Europe.^[9]
• Finland should be absorbed into Russia. Southern Finland will be combined with the Republic of Karelia and northern Finland will be "donated to Murmansk Oblast".^[9]
• Estonia should be given to Germany's sphere of influence.^[9]
• Latvia and Lithuania should be given a "special status" in the Eurasian–Russian sphere, although he later writes that they should be integrated into Russia rather than obtaining national independence.^[9]
• Republic of North Ossetia) will be incorporated into Russia. Georgia's independent policies are unacceptable.^[9]
• Belarus and Moldova are to become part of Russia, not independent.^[9]
• Poland should be granted a "special status" in the Eurasian sphere. This may involve splitting Poland between German and Russian spheres of influence.^[9]
• North Macedonia, Serbia, "Serbian Bosnia" and Greece – "Orthodox Christian collectivist East" – will unite with "Moscow the Third Rome" and reject the "rational-individualistic West".^[9]
• Transcarpathia), considering its Catholic-majority population, are permitted to form an independent federation of Western Ukraine but should not be under Atlanticist control.^[9]

• The book stresses the "continental Russian–Islamic alliance" which lies "at the foundation of anti-Atlanticist strategy". The alliance is based on the "traditional character of Russian and Islamic civilization".
• Iran is a key ally. The book uses the term "Moscow–Tehran axis".^[9]
• Armenia has a special role: It will serve as a "strategic base," and it is necessary to create "the [subsidiary] axis Moscow-Yerevan-Teheran". Armenians "are an Aryan people ... [like] the Iranians and the Kurds".^[9]
• Azerbaijan could be "split up" or given to Iran.^[9]
• Russia needs to create "geopolitical shocks" within Turkey. These can be achieved by employing Kurds, Armenians and other minorities (such as Greeks) to attack the ruling regimes.^[9]
• The book regards the Caucasus as a Russian territory, including "the eastern and northern shores of the Caspian (the territories of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan)" and Central Asia (mentioning Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan).^[9]

In East and Southeast Asia:

• Dugin envisions the fall of China. China, which represents an extreme geopolitical danger as an ideological enemy to the independent Russian Federation, "must, to the maximum degree possible, be dismantled". Dugin suggests that Russia start by taking Tibet–Xinjiang–Inner Mongolia–Manchuria as a security belt.^[1] Russia should offer China help "in a southern direction – Indochina (except Vietnam), the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia" as geopolitical compensation.^[9]
• Russia should manipulate Japanese politics by offering the Kuril Islands to Japan and provoking anti-Americanism, to "be a friend of Japan".^[9]
• Mongolia should be absorbed into Eurasia-Russia.^[9]

The book emphasizes that Russia must spread geopolitical anti-Americanism everywhere: "the main 'scapegoat' will be precisely the U.S."

The West

In the Americas, United States, and Canada:

• Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States and Canada to
  isolationist tendencies in American politics".^[9]
• The Eurasian Project could be expanded to Central and South America.^[9]

Reception and impact