Aleksandr Dugin: Who is 'Putin's brain' and what is his view of Russia's war in Ukraine?
The death of pro-Kremlin TV commentator Daria Dugina in a suspected car bomb near Moscow on Sunday immediately prompted speculation that the intended target of the attack may have been her father.
Aleksandr Dugin is a prominent ultranationalist philosopher and writer who advocates a vast new Russian empire and is a vehement supporter of the country's war in Ukraine.
According to some commentators, the 60-year-old has been a major influence on Vladimir Putin, although he has no official ties to the Kremlin.
His writings also eerily foretell Russia's turbulent relations with the West: a 1997 book set out a game plan whereby Moscow would sow division, while at the same time luring Europe into increasing economic dependence on its eastern neighbour.
Dugin has no direct link to Russian foreign policy. But the numerous references to him in the international press as "Putin's brain" appear to be well founded.
To some, the influence of the far-right figure on the Russian leader has been monumental and is key to understanding Putin's view of the world and Russia's place in it.
"A broader understanding is needed of Dugin’s deadly ideas. Russia has been running his playbook for the past 20 years, and it has brought us here, to the brink of another world war," Washington Post columnist David Von Drehle wrote in an opinion piece in May, describing him as "a fascist prophet of maximal Russian empire".
The author says Dugin's analysis could be seen directly in Putin's long, rambling speech on the eve of the Russian president's invasion of Ukraine in February, as he formally recognised the independence of the two rebel-controlled regions in the east.
The Kremlin frequently echoes rhetoric from Dugin's writings and appearances on Russian state
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