What’s Eating ‘Putin’s Brain’?
Even Russia’s leading warmonger has run out of ways to justify the Ukraine invasion.
TL;DR
- Aleksandr Dugin, a key ideologue of the Ukraine invasion, has lost his ability to provide convincing justifications for the war.
- The war's realities, including Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory and significant Russian casualties, are undermining the Kremlin's propaganda.
- Even war cheerleaders like Dugin are struggling to bridge the gap between what Russians know and what the Kremlin claims.
- Dugin's recent pronouncements have become nonsensical, including attacks on surfing and a cartoon character, serving as distractions from the war's lack of a coherent narrative.
- Russian elites, who previously supported the war out of fear of losing, now believe the conflict has reached a dead end.
- Military advances in Ukraine have stalled, and Ukrainian drone attacks have targeted Russian supply lines and infrastructure, including in Crimea and St. Petersburg.
- Social media platforms are presenting a gloomier picture of the war than state television, contributing to public discontent.
- Dugin himself has expressed concerns about Russia's chances of victory and even maintaining the country's integrity with the current elites.
- Despite calls for negotiation and a growing sense of fatigue, hard-liners at forums like the St. Petersburg Economic Forum continue to advocate for prolonged conflict or extreme measures.
- Putin rejects negotiations, urging soldiers to continue fighting, while the St. Petersburg forum highlights Russia's diminished international standing.
- The Kremlin's failure to explain the war's purpose to the Russian public has led to its lowest popularity ratings since the invasion began.