While the secularism of
Atlantists increases the intellectual appeal of their indigenous ideology - that of neoliberalism, transcontinentally; the newly discovered neo-clericalism of Eastern and Russophone Europe plays, not an emancipating, but a powerful self-restraining role.
The two camps represent the two poles in post-Soviet Russian thinking: the Eurasianists vs the
Atlantists. The former trying to put Russia at the centre of an independent anti-Western coalition.
The Fifth Columnists, or
Atlantists, are helping manipulating currency exchange rates, devaluations of their country's -- Iran's -- money; they are exaggerating the impact of sanctions at home to create fear and hostility against the government -- in brief, they are weaponizing public opinion against their own government.
This discussion resumed during the period of change and transformation in Russia between the
Atlantists and the Eurasianists who promoted the Russian role as a bridge between Europe and Asia.