Russia’s territorial and ideological expansion will persist “as far as God wills”, according to Vladislav Surkov, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and long-time adviser to President Vladimir Putin, in his first interview since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
In remarks made to L’Express, Surkov presented a vision of Russia’s geopolitical mission grounded in continual expansion, framing it not merely as a strategic objective but as a fundamental national imperative. He maintained that Russia’s historical identity is inseparable from its expansionist posture, rejecting the notion of fixed borders in Russian political thought.
Surkov proposed that Russia should continue to extend its influence through military, cultural, informational and ideological means.
“The Russian world has no borders. The Russian world is everywhere there is Russian influence, in one form or another,” Surkov told the French outlet. “We will spread out in all directions, as far as God wills and as strong as we are.”
A key element of Surkov’s world view is his denial of Ukraine’s sovereignty. Repeating long-standing claims, he described Ukraine as an “artificial political entity” and advocated its reintegration into Russia’s sphere of influence. He characterised the war in Ukraine as both a moral and historical cleansing, calling the conflict a division between “Russians and anti-Russians”.
“Perhaps one day Ukraine will be a real state, but only within its natural borders, and therefore much smaller,” he said.
Although Surkov no longer holds an official government position, his ideological influence endures. He was central to the development of the Kremlin’s current political structure, which he described as a “democracy with a monarchical archetype” led by a singular figure.
“We need a tsar,” he said. “Periods without a tsar always end in disaster for us. Multipolarity is good for foreign policy, not domestic policy.”
Surkov also directed criticism at the European Union, accusing it of institutional overreach and a lack of direction. He predicted that the EU would either return to being a solely economic union or evolve into a fully federalised structure, which he argued would require “a generous dose of good old-fashioned authoritarianism”.
Looking ahead, Surkov envisaged a geopolitical realignment involving Russia, the United States and Europe, forming what he termed the “Great North” – a civilisational bloc shaped by mutual demographic challenges posed by the Global South.
