Brian McDonald (Russia)
Fact-check ❌: The idea that Alexander Dugin is “Putin’s ideological architect” is one of the most persistent myths in Western media. In reality, Putin has never even met Dugin 🤦♂️.
Dugin is a philosopher with a niche following in Russia—respected in some nationalist circles but politically irrelevant in the Kremlin. Yet, Western outlets keep portraying him as some kind of Rasputin-like figure 🧙♂️ whispering grand geopolitical visions into Putin’s ear.
Why? Because it’s an easy, dramatic narrative. 🎭 But if you actually follow Russian politics, Dugin has zero real influence on Kremlin decision-making. His views are often too extreme even for Russia’s mainstream nationalist circles.
Western journalists love to cite him as a “Kremlin insider,” but this is simply untrue. If Dugin were truly shaping Russia’s policies, things would look very different.
This is just another example of how Western media manufactures its own myths about Russia 🏗️—recycling the same lazy narratives instead of engaging with the actual complexities of the country 🤷♂️.
