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Western mainstream media have played a major and deeply disturbing role in amplifying the ideas of Russian fascist ideologue Alexander Dugin, both in the West and beyond. 1/10

By falsely portraying Dugin as having considerable – if not definitive – influence on Kremlin thinking, they encouraged far-right as well as non-far-right sympathisers of the Putin regime around the world to regard his fascist ideas as legitimate critiques of Western liberal democracy. 2/10

The warped logic underpinning this is as follows: if one agrees with Putin’s view of the West, and if Putin is presumed to be influenced by Dugin (as Western media often claim), then it appears reasonable to turn to Dugin’s work as the supposed source of Putin’s anti-Western outlook. 3/10

In reality, Dugin’s role in the political sphere surrounding the Kremlin is largely instrumental rather than ideological. 4/10

For instance, he often functions as a scarecrow for the Russian public when the Presidential Administration seeks to normalise the Kremlin’s most extreme policies. 5/10

By presenting Putin’s decisions alongside Dugin’s more radical ideas, the former appear comparatively moderate – and therefore more acceptable – to the population. 6/10

Zhirinovsky's old role.