Eurasianism in Russia's ruling party?

My colleague Andreas Umland has raised the question of the significance for Alexander Dugin's Eurasianism of the appointment of Ivan Demidov as the chief ideologue of United Russia, Russia's ruling party ("Новый главный идеолог России," Glavred, April 1, 2008).

Demidov knows Dugin, having collaborated with him on Spas (the Orthodox TV channel on which Dugin has a program). Demidov has in the past expressed his admiration for Dugin ("doubtlessly, a crucial factor, a certain breaking point, in my life, was the appearance of Alexander Dugin").

According to Umland, Demidov has emerged as a "defender of Russia as a unique world civilization and an independent great power," which is certainly compatible with Eurasianism. On the other hand, he clearly rejects some of the more extreme positions associated with that movement, stating that "the word 'Russian' and 'fascism' are antonyms," and that he and his allies will fight against "the introduction of the term 'Russian fascism' in the mass consciousness."

Guénon and Jeanne de Salzmann?

There are rumors of a meeting in Cairo between Guénon and Jeanne de Salzmann (as in Gurdjieff), and I am told that de Salzmann's current followers often value Traditionalist works. Any further information on this would be much appreciated!

A Companion to the Works of René Guénon

Just published: Graham Rooth, Prophet for a Dark Age: A Companion to the Works of René Guénon (Sussex Academic Press, 2008). 400 pp. Paperback £29.95 / $59.95. ISBN: 978-1-84519-251-8.


"This book provides an overview of Guénon’s work. It is arranged in four parts each of which provides extracts that express his views directly and commentaries that summarize or paraphrase his written work. The objective is to allow Guénon to speak for himself rather than produce a critique of his ideas."

Good to see such a book coming from an academic press, as I said in the foreword to it.

Traditionalism in Kansas

Episode 9 in KTWU's Beyond Theology series, broadcast in January, was "Mysticism and the Perennial Philosophy." It featured Huston Smith and Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

• Program transcript from KTW
• Partial recording on YouTube

KTWU broadcasts mostly in Kansas and is run by Washburn University of Topeka.