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When Michael Millerman arrived at the University of Toronto as a graduate student with an interest in an obscure Russian geopolitical theorist, the university’s senior faculty was bitterly divided.

Some saw the tall, clean-cut student as an intelligent but naive philosopher whose arcane interests could be steered toward productive scholarship.

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Others saw Millerman as a malicious far-right propagandist pushing an anti-liberal ideology that — thanks in part to the work Millerman has done as a freelance translator — has become an inspiration to far-right movements in Europe and America.

Over the course of his studies, Millerman emerged as the world’s leading conduit into the English language for the work of Aleksandr Dugin, a Russian neo-fascist who is under sanctions by Canada for his role in the annexation of Ukraine.

Now that the University of Toronto has awarded a doctorate to Millerman for his research on Dugin and others, there is a sense of relief on both sides. Several professors are glad to see the back of him. The feeling is mutual.