Prominent Western far-right figures have arrived in Moscow for the "Future Forum," a two-day event aimed at broadcasting Russia's state ideology and an ultraconservative and neo-imperialist vision of its future to audiences abroad.
The sessions focused on topics ranging from "The Multipolar World of the 21st Century" and "Transmitting Values to the Beta Generation through Content", to "Harmonic Equilibrium 2050", "An Encounter with the Future", "A Woman's Perspective", "Greater Eurasia 2050" and "Ideology and Traditional Values".
Organized by the Tsargrad Institute, speakers include Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, right-wing influencer Jackson Hinkle, American economist Jeffrey Sachs, British politician George Galloway, and Elon Musk's father, Errol Musk.
The Tsargrad Institute, which was founded by tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev and led by ideologue Alexander Dugin, presents itself as a think tank for conservative policy prescriptions, blending right-wing politics and Orthodox thought.
The forum coincides with the Tsargrad Institute's report on its vision for Russia in 2050, which presents some extreme conservative policy suggestions to set Russia on a course more consistent with its worldview.
The report opens by claiming that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 marked "a new era of regional world order."
"By launching the Special Military Operation and openly challenging the hegemony of the West, Russia has entered the fight not only for its sovereignty, but also for the right of every country to its own development, culture and religion," he continues.
The report clearly states that Russia must be an autocracy if it is to succeed, using its interpretation of the reigns of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Josef Stalin, and other Russian and Soviet leaders to justify this assertion.
The Tsargrad Institute report asserts that Russia is a unique civilization entrusted by God with a spiritual and historical mission.
"The idea of a nation is not what it thinks of itself in time, but what God thinks of it in eternity," the report says, referring to 19th-century Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov.
He cites the tsarist-era concept of Russia as the "Third Rome" - which is used today to justify Moscow's geopolitical aspirations for control of the "Russian World" - and calls for the "gathering of historically Russian lands", which includes Ukraine.
The report says Russia must deconstruct the "artificially created Ukrainian nation" and restore its historical memory as an integral part of Russian civilization.
"Russian women should see the main goal of their lives and the highest manifestation of their service in the birth and upbringing of children," the report on family policy states.
In Tsargrad's ideal future, 85% of children will be born to mothers under the age of 23, the divorce rate is under 10%, less than 3% of children are born out of wedlock, and abortion is almost completely eliminated.
As part of a policy framework to encourage early childbirth, the report says women should be exempt from childbearing if they have three or more children.
The report cites the example of the Russian Empire, where, according to it, a woman's main occupation was "marriage, motherhood and housework."
One of the main events on Monday was a panel discussion called “The Multipolar World in the 21st Century.” The panel included speakers such as Lavrov, Galloway, Russian state television host Dmitry Symes, former CIA and U.S. State Department analyst Larry Johnson and others.
In his speech to the assembly before Errol Musk's speech, Malofeyev thanked Elon Musk for demonstrating to the world that "we can have a common future" based on "what is happening in space."
Malofeyev then mentioned some of the typical points of Moscow's anti-Western discourse: that the war in Ukraine would end with "a new Yalta" between Moscow and Washington, that the Russian and American peoples had a common future thanks to the election of Donald Trump, that Trump's re-election prevented a world war, and that only the "corrupt" US Democratic Party benefited from a confrontation between the two countries.
Errol Musk, who has previously expressed admiration for Putin, praised Moscow.
"Moscow is like Rome to me, the most beautiful city," the elder Musk said. "I'm extremely surprised that Russia is portrayed as an enemy, even though it's trying to be part of the European community. It's being denied that. Russia saved Europe twice - from Napoleon and from Hitler. How can you continue to portray Russia in a negative light?"
Musk also downplayed the consequences of his son's conflict with the US president, saying it stemmed from "fundamental disagreements between him and some White House officials over federal spending."
The forum will continue on Tuesday with talks by Jackson Hinkle, George Galloway and Alex Jones. /MoscowTimes