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Russia’s Former Puppet Master Gives His First Western Media Interview in Years
“Russia will expand in all directions, as far as God wills”
Vladislav Surkov, perhaps the most enigmatic figure in Russia, has not had a direct influence on Kremlin’s policies for more than five years. Moreover, since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the former adviser to the Russian president has fallen into silence, only occasionally trying to provoke a new political storm with his articles. Nevertheless, the man who created the ideology of Vladimir Putin’s regime, a shadowy Kremlin adviser, has much to say about Russia and the leader who runs it.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has not granted any political interviews. He has not made any public comment on the war that is currently ravaging the heart of Europe.
On 19 March 2025, however, Surkov gave an interview to the French magazine L’Express. Immediately afterwards, a Russian version of the interview was published by the popular political portal Aktualnye Kommentarii (Actual Comments).
This last interview, as a conceptual document, is noteworthy because it summarizes the Kremlin’s current foreign policy goals. Surkov’s recognizable radicalism, which goes much further in his judgments than his…
