Today, the total and comprehensive militarisation of the country, state, and people is vitally necessary.

Militarisation means shifting society onto a military footing. The scale and main directions of militarisation are open to debate as they depend on the specific historical and geopolitical situation, economic capabilities and resources, political ideology, and cultural dominants. When a country is at peace and its vital interests and very existence are not threatened, excessive militarisation is unnecessary and superfluous. Of course, any sovereign state must have armed forces capable of defending it in a critical situation. Therefore, complete demilitarisation is nothing less than a renunciation of sovereignty and an acceptance of absolute dependence on some external force. However, the intensity and extent of militarisation always vary.

As President Putin openly acknowledged in his address to the Federal Assembly, essentially in his policy speech for the country for the next six years (no one doubts that Putin will be re-elected), Russia is at war. A war that was imposed on it. A war with the entire collective West: acknowledgements of direct involvement by the USA and the EU become louder and clearer every day — to the point that it can no longer be ignored.

The militarisation of society in the conditions of a bloody war for historical existence is an absolute necessity, and it is senseless to debate this. Russia is shifting its industry onto a military footing, as the president also said. But this is just one aspect of militarisation. The phenomenon is much broader.

Not only the defence industry complex but the entire state and society as a whole must be shifted onto a military footing. Previously, it was fashionable to debate this, but today it is not possible. To achieve victory in such a fundamental confrontation, it is necessary to transform Russia into a wartime state.

Let us take a closer look at the main directions of militarisation.

The country must establish a military ideology, an ideology of victory. It is impossible to fight without an idea. But the homeland, the motherland, the state — these are primarily about the idea. And it must be affirmed in everything: in culture, information policy, education, upbringing, the mindset of elites and the masses, and in the psychology of everyday life. This requires the updating and widespread introduction of traditional values, historical self-awareness, and a vivid and intense representation of Russian identity.

It is probably necessary to tune the ideological machine to two registers — a more intense, sharp, and clear version to be applied to the army, new subjects of Russia, and border territories. In regions far from the front, actions can be softer. Moreover, the Ukrainian regime achieves such stubborn resistance to our troops precisely because of the radical totalitarian ideologisation of its entire population. Of course, one should not follow terrorists and maniacs, but in a relaxed state, it is impossible to defeat this ideological force hostile to us, mixed up with neo-Nazism, globalism, and liberalism. The war must become the people’s war; our military and the defence industry complex, as well as military educational structures, must be the flagships of ideologisation. The structures of the Main Military Political Directorate must be fully restored but this time armed with a new ideology of state patriotism. The rear must follow this process in a softer mode but without allowing a critical break. Ultimately, the entire society should be ideologised.

The work of managerial government structures must be transferred to a special mode corresponding to wartime. The norms of rest, vacations, and working days for key management areas must be reviewed due to wartime conditions and brought closer to front-line conditions. A code of conduct for civil servants in wartime should be introduced. Rest in unfriendly countries, displaying excessive luxury, procrastination, and, God forbid, sabotage and corruption during wartime are unacceptable. For this, severe punishment is necessary.

A number of liberal rights and freedoms should be restricted due to extraordinary circumstances. Any criticism of the state, heroes of Russia, the authorities, the church, and the president, as well as attacks on patriotism, the Russian idea, and anti-war propaganda, should be categorically prohibited. Any media and social networks broadcasting such an agenda should be immediately outlawed. Excesses here are inevitable, but a review of mistakes will have to be done only after victory.

Obviously, the entire economy must be restructured for wartime. It has been oriented towards integration with the West and the global division of labour for too long, so at a critical moment, we lacked key links in the production and technological cycle. This must be rectified immediately. The role of the state in the economy — primarily in strategically important industries and large-scale production — is already growing rapidly, but it needs to grow even faster.

The same applies to financial policy. The war with the collective West forces Russia to be independent of the dollar, euro, and any other currency aspiring to the role of reserve currency. Everything our foreign partners need to buy, they should buy for rubles. The issuance of rubles must become sovereign, and the currency board policy should be definitively abandoned. Today, it is easy to track any emission flow through electronic trace (up to the ruble), and therefore, instead of a single (monetarist) model of interest rate for everyone, a gradation should be introduced: for strategic industries and projects — interest-free lending on a separate escrow account, for medium-scale projects — a preferential interest rate, and for regular loans — the maximum rate (but still lower than today’s, which does not allow for the development of private initiative).

Militarisation requires a change in demographic policy, as the president constantly reminds us. Relying on the labour of migrants and replenishing the decline of the native population of Russia with their help is a crime on a historical scale. It is necessary to reverse the catastrophic trend of falling birth rates with extraordinary measures.

Militarisation of culture is necessary. The focus should be on glorifying the feats of our heroes at all stages of history — including the Special Military Operation. Any concert, any broadcast, any event should begin with the anthem and the glorification of the Russian person’s feats. At the same time, high moral ideals and traditional values should be prioritised. Any hint of mockery of them should lead to administrative punishments and a ban on public expressions of anti-patriotic or simply immoral nature — including blogs, social networks, and so on.

Militarisation requires a change of elites. The elites that have formed in society since the 80s and 90s are largely carriers of the spirit of defeat, cynicism, egoism, corruption, violence, lies, and those qualities that bring to the surface the dregs of society in an era of universal degeneration and decay. Putin made it clear in his message to the Federal Assembly: the 90s elites must go, and new elites — heroes and martyrs, creators and bearers of the highest moral principle — must take their place. However, the front and risk do only half the job in forming the core of the new Russian elite. Having returned to the rear, they must receive the best — elite! — education in an accelerated manner. However, the overwhelming majority of educational structures in Russia reflect precisely the liberal layout of the 80s and 90s. Therefore, militarisation of education is necessary, a sharp break in the vector — primarily in the humanities — that has been established over the last decades under direct control and by direct instruction from the West, with which we are at war today.

The rotation of the diplomatic corps, which has faced unprecedented challenges characteristic of any war and especially such a harsh — civilisational! — war in which we have been involved, has long been overdue. Our diplomats are on the front line of the clash of civilisations, but this requires entirely new skills and knowledge compared to those honed in the previous decades of rapprochement with the West. This must be carried out immediately.

Militarisation must also touch the media. Yes, the political broadcasting strategy is currently aiming for it, but the rest of the media’s work — cultural, educational, and even entertainment — must also be subject to militarisation. Starting with face control and dress code for anyone appearing on screen or on official sites. Even advertising must take into account the norms of the war the country is fighting.

Finally, the militarisation of everyday life is necessary. Patriotism must become a way of life, reformatting the everyday psychology of the average person. All public spaces must be filled with symbols of war and victory. This idea must be conveyed to parents and educators: the goal of the entire nation is to raise a generation of heroes who will defend and rejuvenate great Russia. Ethics and morality, purity of speech, and basic knowledge of history should be given increased attention in every family. We are fighting for language, culture, morality, traditional values, and sovereignty. This means it must be clear to everyone — regardless of age, social status, gender, and profession.

Yes, and of course, the vigilance of special services, law enforcement agencies, and ordinary citizens towards those who give reason to doubt their patriotism, displaying signs of liberal, pro-Ukrainian, or Russophobic behaviour, must be greatly increased. Any crime and any terrorist act first originates in the mind. If the Russian idea does not control the consciousness of society, it will be captured by a vicious, pathological Russophobic idea implemented by our enemies who have succeeded in waging mental wars. If the heart does not belong to God, the devil settles in it. Similarly, in the realm of thought, where high ideals of faith, the state, and the people are not prioritised, the serpents of terror make their nest. It is time to revive SMERSH.

I might be objected: all this looks grotesque, unaccustomed, unexpected, and… harsh. Yes, probably. Because for too long we have lived in a distorted perception of the world, of ourselves, of the West and its universality. For too long we have been lulled by false tales of peace in the whole world and carefree purely material development. The abruptness of the awakening is due to the depth of the sleep.

Translated by Constantin von Hoffmeister

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