Here are a few more sources if you’d like to read about Aleksandr Dugin’s influence on Russian policies. Geopolitics is not a blueprint for the Kremlin’s foreign policy, however its influence on Russia is quite notable and should be understood.
One perceptive observer of the Russian political scene, Francoise Thom, noted as far back as 1994 that fascism, and especially its “Eurasianist” variant, was already at that time displacing Russian nationalism among statist Russian elites as a post-communist “Russian Idea,” especially in the foreign policy sphere. “The weakness of Russian nationalists,” she emphasized, “stems from their inability to clearly situate Russian frontiers. Euras[ianism] brings an ideological foundation for post-Soviet imperialism.”2 There has probably not been another book published in Russia during the post-communist period which has exerted an influence on Russian military, police, and statist foreign policy elites comparable to that of Aleksandr Dugin’s 1997 neo-fascist treatise, Foundations of Geopolitics.3
The impact of this intended “Eurasianist” textbook on key elements among Russian elites testifies to the worrisome rise of fascist ideas and sentiments during the late Yeltsin and the Putin periods.
…In a similar vein, the investigative weekly, Versiya, observed in late May of 2001: “Contacts between Pavlovskii and ‘Eurasia’ actually do occur, but most likely on the level of personal consultations. Aleksandr Dugin and the head of Kremlin politico-technology enjoy good, friendly relations.” Under Vladimir Putin, the newspaper continued, Dugin had become “one of the drafters of the concept of national security.” It was noted that Dmitrii Ryurikov, a leading advisor to President Yeltsin on foreign affairs, and the then Russian ambassador to Uzbekistan, had agreed to become a member of “Eurasia’s” Central Council. Dugin’s new organization, Versiya went on, was also engaged in “the preparing of analytical reports on foreign affairs for the Presidential Administration…” As for the financial support of “Eurasia,” the newspaper wrote: “The financial support of the movement comes through regional organizations of the special services. And this support, according to our sources, is not small.
Moreover, not only finances are provided but also ‘necessary’ connections…”36 In his address to the founding congress of “Eurasia,” Dugin first of all expressed his gratitude to “the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation,” for its assistance, before proceeding also to thank the Moscow Patriarchate, the Central Spiritual Administration for the Muslims of Russia, and other organizations.37 On May 31, 2001, the Russian Ministry of Justice officially registered the “Eurasia” movement, which was reported to have branches in fifty regions of Russia.38 In late June of 2001, “Eurasia” hosted an ambitious conference, provocatively titled “Islamic Threat or a Threat to Islam?” held at the Presidential Hotel in Moscow. The titular co-chairmen of the conference were Seleznev (who did not attend) and Sheikh Talgat Tadzhuddin, the officially…
