The West paints him as Kremlin’s top ideologue, but the philosophy of “Neo-Eurasianist” academic Alexander Dugin is considered radical even by staunch Russophiles. RT sat down for a no-holds-barred interview.

“The Western mind doesn’t understand the Russian mind. They blame us for not being Western, and praise any aspect of us that resembles the Western way of life. That’s a very unproductive attitude,” Dugin told 'Worlds Apart' host Oksana Boyko during a half-hour sit-down talk in Moscow.

The former head of the department of sociology of international relations at Moscow State University says that at its “profound” level, Russian society rejects “poisonous” values such as individualism, liberal democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

“Russia does not want a liberal democratic leader. We first of all want to have a strong, powerful and patriotic leader that could restore the glory of our country, and our international independence,” said Dugin, who has served as an advisor to several politicians, but has never enjoyed official endorsement from the Kremlin.

As the conversation heated up, Boyko stated she was as much a patriot as the arch-conservative, and argued that Dugin’s ideas could be used to justify tyranny and a rejection of modern technology and knowledge. The two also clashed over their views of American morals, abortion and what Vladimir Putin really thinks.

Find the full interview here.