Western countries are going through a political and social “crisis of hypocrisy” that will lead to the emergence of a “western Tsar," long-time presidential aide Vladislav Surkov says, as Russia marks the centenary of the October Revolution.
In a cryptic column for the state-run news channel RT on Tuesday, Surkov, also known as Putin’s Grey Cardinal, quotes an American heavy metal band called Five Finger Death Punch.
“The line ‘Done with all your hypocrisy’ sounds like a prophecy, a verdict, and as the motto of a new era,” Surkov writes.
Surkov links the 2016 presidential election that led to U.S. President Donald Trump’s victory and an ongoing sexual harassment scandal in the U.S. with a widespread desire among Americans to “wash it all away.”
“The strangeness of the political landscape is observed everywhere in the West. Mistrust of everything ordinary is growing. The habitual is perceived as false and unreal. The unfamiliar gives hope. A normal person loses popularity, and a freak gains it.”
Russia's advisor on Ukraine closes his column with an ominous warning — quoting again from the American metal band — that a strong hand will lead the confused crowds from “all of the chaos and all of the lies."
“Prophetic comics are already predicting a Western Tsar, the founder of digital dictatorship, a chief with semi-artificial intelligence," he writes.
“Why not let these comics come to life? That’s an option too."
Surkov played a leading role in shaping the current Russian political landscape during President Vladimir Putin's first two terms in office. He is also widely believed to be the author of "Around Zero," a 2010 book of political fiction written under the pen name Natan Dubovitsky. He has also written poetry and lyrics for the rock group Agata Kristi.
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