The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/russia)
In this week’s Pagan Community Notes: Russians turn to Witchcraft amid uncertainty, new research on happiness (is it Witchcraft?), a remembrance of elder and Witch Margot Adler, we mark the crossing of the Veil for Ted Gill, Star’s Tarot of the Week, and Earth Day events.
Russian propaganda blames witches, pagan imagery, “black magic,” and even Celtic festivals for military setbacks in Ukraine, weaving the absurd with the sinister. These tales of “satanic altars” and aircraft-destroying witches mask battlefield failures while mobilizing religious fear at home and abroad.
Russian leaders continue using fictional threats to justify repression. With “Satanists” now banned and LGBTQ+ groups labeled extremists, religious minorities—including Pagans—face growing risks under an increasingly Orthodox-aligned regime.
One Halloween, when I was young enough to still go trick-or-treating with my parents, a pair of boys from my school ran around my block chanting “Nazi! Nazi! Nazi!” while I stood there in my out-of-the-box Darth Vader or Spider-Man costume. When my dad was the age that I was then, he was in an extermination camp.
Putin’s “Witch” has been detained by Russian authorities on suspicion of inciting violence against the Russian Orthodox Church and insulting religious feelings.