Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeev will give lectures at the Faculty of Political Science of Moscow State University for second year students. This was reported by the outlet Meduza, citing sources at the university.
The course entitled History of the Empire has already been added to the timetable, which also lists the lecturer’s name, Associate Professor K. V. Malofeev, as Meduza has a screenshot at its disposal. The lecturer’s initials coincide with those of the owner of the Tsargrad television channel. Meduza was unable to identify any other associate professors at Moscow State University with this surname and initials.
Previously, there had been no reports of Malofeev being awarded the academic title of associate professor, nor is it indicated in his scholarly publications. Most likely, this refers to a position. For this position, a candidate is required to hold a Candidate of Sciences or Doctor of Sciences degree and have at least three years of research and teaching experience. The Orthodox entrepreneur does hold an academic degree, as discussed below.
What exactly Malofeev will tell students in the new semester is not yet known. However, in 2022 the Orthodox oligarch published the third book in his quasi historical cycle entitled Empire. In an interview with philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, released the same year, Malofeev explained his ideas.
According to his version, two civilisational types, the Empire, with a capital letter, and the anti empire have opposed each other since Ancient times. The embodiment of the anti empire, which Malofeev also calls Canaan, in that era was Carthage, which the Romans fought against, Malofeev believes.
The oligarch outlines the main features of the two civilisations. The Empire, in the view of the Orthodox entrepreneur, is characterised by the presence of a figure of a tsar or emperor, who answers only to God. God, as the force establishing an imperial state, is mandatory. Without God there is no empire, he emphasises. He calls service, honour and duty the key words of the Empire. The countries of Canaan, by contrast, are ruled by merchants and oligarchs, and therefore their priorities, Malofeev claims, are profit, enrichment, personal success, consumerism and personal comfort.
The main thing in the life of the Empire is ensuring the best possible existence for its citizens, but not comfort. Comfort destroys the state, Malofeev tries to explain.
In his concept, the Empire exists through the centuries. The Roman Empire, he explains, transformed into the Byzantine Empire, which in turn became the Tsardom of Moscow and the Russian Empire. Present day Russia is its continuation. The Empire is our past and our future, we cannot not be an empire, Malofeev proclaims. Canaan, unlike the Empire, can be expressed by different states and structures simultaneously. Thus, Malofeev calls both Carthage and the Venetian Republic, as well as the United States and even transnational corporations, Canaan.
Christ Himself, during the Roman census, was registered under Roman authority, and this means that the Roman Empire is eternal until the Second Coming. There is no other empire except Rome. The Roman kingdom is one, it must be continued, and we have succeeded in doing so, Malofeev declares. He names the carriers of the spirit of this empire in modern Russia as the church, the army and the family.
It should be recalled that businessman Konstantin Malofeev has been under US, EU and other international sanctions since 2014 for supporting separatism in eastern Ukraine. In 2022 to 2023, the United States accused him of circumventing restrictions, confiscated 5.4 million dollars and directed these funds to aid Ukraine.
Media outlets also reported that the oligarch married Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, who since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine has been involved in the removal of Ukrainian orphans to Russia. In connection with this, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the official. Maria Lvova Belova, the wife of a priest, for years cultivated the image of a mother of many children and a defender of traditional values. Konstantin Malofeev, in turn, is known as a supporter of the Russian world.
Thus, the oligarch who participated in the annexation of Crimea will continue to fill minds with pseudo scientific theories, preventing the development of genuine critical thinking and humanitarian thought. In effect, Russian universities will continue to raise people with imperial thinking that justifies expansionism and imperial identity.
