During my latest visit to Moscow, I had the privilege of spending time with Sergei Karaganov and getting to know him. Mr. Karaganov is a leading Russian foreign policy thinker and dean at the Higher School of Economics, and is the key architect of the “Greater Eurasia” concept, which he introduced in the mid-2010s, framing it as Russia’s strategic reorientation away from a declining West toward a multipolar Eurasian heartland. In response to the 2014 Ukraine crisis and Western sanctions, Karaganov formulated a vision that built on Vladimir Putin’s 2013 Valdai Club speech, and evolved into a comprehensive geopolitical vision by 2018. Karaganov described Greater Eurasia as a “pan-Eurasian space of development, cooperation, peace, and security,” positioning Russia as the “center and north” of a vast continent-spanning community that integrates Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. His 2025 article — Eastern Turn 2.0 — called for a civilizational shift from Russia’s 300-year “detour through Europe” to one that embraced its Eurasian identity, emphasizing self-reliance, traditional values, and alliances with rising non-Western powers like China and India.
Sergei Karaganov’s advocacy for Russia’s strategic pivot toward the East (particularly Asia and Eurasia) is a reaction to Western hostility, moral decay, and economic decline. He views the Greater Eurasia focus as essential for Russia’s survival and resurgence. In his 2025 article “Eastern Turn 2.0,” he argued that Russia must reject Western liberalism—characterized by individualism, consumerism, and “moral degradation” like LGBT rights and multiculturalism gone awry—and instead embrace a “civilizational turn” toward Eurasian alliances, emphasizing state devotion, traditional values, and partnerships with rising powers like China and India. Karaganov’s view is not just an academic exercise… It is a concrete vision to galvanize the Russian belief in cooperation and collaboration, rather than exalt individual achievements or pursue imperialist objectives, to create a viable foreign and economic policy that produces tangible benefits and security for Russia and its partners.
My conversation with hockey legend Vyacheslav Fetisov helped me understand the Russian mentality that I believe shaped Karaganov’s thinking. Fetisov (aka Slava) is a Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Youth Affairs, but made his mark in Russia as the Michael Jordan of hockey. Fetisov spoke at length to me about what he learned about himself when he came to the United States in 1989 to play for the New Jersey Devils. He was shocked at the emphasis on individual performance and the disregard for playing as a team. Although he was celebrated in Russia as an elite player, he viewed his accomplishments as the result of playing in a Soviet system that emphasized collaboration.
In interviews tied to the 2014 documentary Red Army (directed by Gabe Polsky), Fetisov highlighted how Soviet hockey was built on a “creative, play-for-each-other style” that prioritized collective thinking and intricate teamwork over individualism. He described the intense, year-round training under coaches like Anatoly Tarasov as forging “ultimate teamwork,” influenced by Russian chess strategy and Bolshoi ballet precision—resulting in fluid passing, puck possession, and unit play that baffled North American opponents. Fetisov noted: “In Soviet teams it was like that [collective effort]… any sport that needs collective thinking, we were No. 1,” crediting this ethos for the team’s unparalleled success (e.g., Olympic golds, World Championships). This mentality, I believe, is at the heart of Karaganov’s vision described in Eastern Turn 2.0.
Karaganov, who believed that the West’s habit of waging a “hybrid war” through sanctions and cultural imposition would be the spark that ignited Russia’s reorientation away from Europe’s “periphery” toward Siberia’s untapped potential as a new economic and spiritual center, has been vindicated by the events that followed the start of Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Instead of relying on US companies to supply commercial jetliners, Russia is now producing two different models that are built entirely with Russian parts and engines. Russian factories producing military equipment and weapons are outproducing those of the collective West. I believe that the vast majority of Russians — politicians and citizens — now understand they do not need the West to survive and prosper. More importantly, Russia and its BRICS partners have created a new financial and trade system that insulates them against coercion by the West.
Karaganov sees the East as a dynamic, non-ideological partner offering mutual growth through organizations like BRICS and the SCO, free from Western “universalism” that he deems imperialistic. His warnings against over-reliance on the West, even under potential Trump deals, and promotion of “Greater Eurasia” as a multipolar alternative where Russia can lead in security and energy while benefiting from Asia’s rise, is taking shape. This shift is fostering Russia’s internal development, multiculturalism, and long-term sovereignty… turning Western sanctions into an opportunity for self-reliance. Based on Putin’s actions over the last 47 months, it is clear that he has embraced Karaganov’s vision, which frames the East as Russia’s ally in a post-Western world.
There was a time, especially during the Cold War, that many Russians envied the West and readily adopted Western cultural norms. That was then. Now the West –both the US and Europe — represents a fading, antagonistic force that has nothing of substance or significance to offer Russia. Russia remains open to having a cordial relationship with the United States, but it must be a relationship centered on mutual respect. Russia is not going to be bullied or coerced. Instead, it is turning to China, India and other nations that comprise the Global South to build economic, political and military relations on a foundation of collaboration rather than imperial dominance. Sergei Karaganov is a rare type of academic… Instead of focusing on esoteric concepts that have no relevance to the lives of regular people, he has presented a practical vision for the future of Russia and the world that is transforming Russia and its partners in the East. Well done, my friend.
I did two interesting podcasts in the last two days. The first was with a news outlet in Croatia. The second was with Pluralia Dialogos:
😀 😃
Very interesting. It is useful to contrast this simple but powerful strategic framework against President Trump's well thought out and clearly articulated vision. Close your eyes and imagine these two ideas in competition.