| ID | 193261 |
| Title Proper | Commentary – historical esotericism as a cognition method |
| Other Title Information | How Russian Pseudo-scholars have Contributed to Moscow's Anti-Western Turn |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Umland, Andreas |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | A number of para-academic tendencies in Russian social science helped prepare the Ukraine war. In addition to propaganda and disinformation campaigns by the Kremlin, an intellectual deformation of the Russian elite by the Manichean ideas of such theorists as Lev Gumilyov and Aleksandr Dugin is partly responsible for Russia's increasing secession from Europe. Post-Soviet public discourse has become infected with an array of speculative, often conspiratorial, and sometimes occultist or racist theories. Their proponents have crowded out acknowledged social scientists and historians from intellectual and media debates. This parallel public discourse has been developing since the beginning of glasnost, 35 years ago, and became one of the determinants of Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2014. |
| `In' analytical Note | World Affairs US Vol.186, No.1; Spring 2023: p.210-225 |
| Journal Source | World Affairs US Vol: 186 No 1 |
| Key Words | Russia ; Public Discourse ; Conspiracy Theories ; Academia ; Foreign Policy ; Eurasian Ideology ; Ukraine War ; Para-science ; Post-Soviet Higher Education ; Aleksandr Dugin ; Lev Gumilev |