cta-image

Donate

Donations from readers like you allow us to do what we do. Please help us continue our work with a monthly or one-time donation.

Donate Today
cta-image

Subscribe Today

Subscribe to receive daily or weekly MEMRI emails on the topics that most interest you.
Subscribe
cta-image

Request a Clip

Media, government, and academia can request a MEMRI clip or other MEMRI research, or ask to consult with or interview a MEMRI expert.
Request Clip
memri
Feb 23, 2023
Share Video:

Russian Anti-Liberal Philosopher Aleksander Dugin: Russia Cannot Afford To Lose In Ukraine – If We Start Losing, We May Use Nuclear Weapons; Withdrawal From Ukraine Would Hurl Russia Into A Civil War

#10146 | 02:49
Source: Al-Arabiya Network (Dubai/Saudi Arabia)

On February 23, 2023, Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) aired an interview with Russian anti-liberal philosopher Aleksander Dugin. Dugin said that Russia cannot afford to lose the war in Ukraine because this would lead to domestic unrest, a civil war, and the country's ultimate collapse, and he asserted that the Russians will "fight to the end" and will only be satisfied once Ukraine is "fully liberated from the pro-NATO political elites." He also said that if Russia starts losing the war, it may use nuclear weapons, and he explained that "allowing" Russia to win in Ukraine would actually constitute a victory for the West because it would prevent nuclear war. He said that Ukraine is destined to disappear, whether through a Russian victory or in a nuclear apocalypse that would destroy all of humanity, and he lamented the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which led to Ukraine's independence. Moreover, Dugin said that the West is the "Antichrist," "the source of absolute evil," and that it uses artificial intelligence to "destroy the family, sex, and the nature of human beings." He explained that Muslims understand that this is true, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin disagrees and rather sees the West as a partner that is behaving aggressively.

Dugin: "This is a very dangerous war, since Russia cannot lose it – this can bring [Russia] to its end. Russia cannot say: 'Fine, we will give up the areas we have taken over.' Such a thing would lead to a domestic explosion and Russia would find itself in a civil war. Russia cannot lose under any circumstance, since a single step backwards would lead to 1,000 steps backwards. Russia will fight to the end, because we simply cannot stop. We cannot lose and we will not be satisfied until Ukraine is fully liberated from the pro-NATO political elites, regardless of the cost. This is what we will consider a victory.

[...]

"Russia itself will not use nuclear weapons, so it has no reason to threaten nuclear war. However, there will be such a threat if Russia begins to lose. In such a case, Russia may use nuclear weapons. So, if Russia is allowed to win [the war], this would still constitute victory for the West and a defeat for Russia, except Russia would survive and humanity would be saved. However, in either scenario, there will be no Ukraine. It will disappear if we win, and it will disappear – along with all of humanity, if a nuclear apocalypse begins. Even if we imagine a [Ukrainian] victory, after so many people die and the infrastructure is completely destroyed, no one will be ready to rebuild this huge country. Therefore, Ukraine does not actually exist. [If] only we had refrained from destroying the Soviet Union, or had we broken the necks of Gorbachev and Yeltsin at the right time...

[...]

"In my opinion, the West is the source of absolute evil. It uses artificial intelligence to destroy the family, sex, and the nature of human beings. I believe that the Muslims understand me well, because I believe that the West is the Antichrist. Putin does not think so at all. He sees the West as a partner who behaves very aggressively for whatever reason. Now, we are at war with [the West] because its ally decided to fight us, but if [the West] did not decide to fight us, we would be supplying it with cheap oil and gas."

Share this Clip: