The Resurgence of Radical Conservatism in Russia

Abstract

The focus of this lecture is the concept of sovereign democracy, the brain-child of Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov (b.1964), First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Russia, and the acknowledged ideologist of the regime. In 2006 the collection “Suverenitet (Sovereignty) appeared, edited by the young conservative Nikita Garadja. This contained articles by Putin, Medevedev and Surkov. It has been said that this doctrine has no content. But I wish to show that there is indeed a determinate content – and a dangerous one at that. Policy makers and even scholars in the West are insufficiently aware of this content.