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“Intellectual seduction,” a method of ideological deception, can be found in many societies. Still, it is most\popular in the regimes in transition, as was the case with Putin’s regime in the very beginning of its existence. While most Russians wanted the restoration of Soviet totalitarianism in this or that form and to undo privatization, Putin, after some hesitation, decided to preserve Yeltsin-era socioeconomic arrangements. At the same time, Putin and his tycoons, whose interests he represents, were not sure about the regime’s stability, and needed a cover-up: restoration without restoration. And here, Dugin’s theories became quite handy. Dugin preached the creation of a grand “Eurasian” empire. His theory also had a lot of elements of neo-Sovietism. Still, it marginalized nationalization, the economy in general, and this was what made him and his theories pleasant for Putin. People in the Kremlin pretended that they …