Neo-paganism

   Social movement. Although Russian neo-paganism functions as a quasi-religion and shares some traits with Western “New Age” movements, it is primarily an intellectually driven sociopolitical movement. Sometimes called Vedism, Slavic neo-paganism takes many of its popular rituals and beliefs from Hinduism. In terms of indigenous influences, the sacred text of the religion is the Book of Veles, a tome of questionable origins that recounts the preChristian history, morals, and social practices of the 7th- and 8thcentury Eastern Slavs.

   Neo-pagans reject the imposition of Orthodox Christianity in 988 as a cataclysm that subjected the Slavs to a millennium of Jewish and “Western” domination. As such, neo-pagan publications and theories, in conjunction with the closely allied ideology of Aryanism, have served the interests of Russian ultranationalists and anti-Semitic movements. Under glasnost, the neo-Pagans were most closely allied with the racist Pamyat party. However, in the mid-1990s, a significant portion of the neo-pagan community allied itself with the rebranded Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), clearly demonstrating its power as a political force in the country. Gennady Zyuganov’s populist anti-Semitism meshes well with the neo-pagan worldview; however, the relationship with the KPRF is problematic given the strong pro-environment orientation of many neo-pagans.

   In addition to Russian neo-paganism, there has been a resurgence of paganism, shamanism, and animism among many of the country’s ethnic minorities. This is particularly true in Siberia and the Volga regions where a certain percentage of Russia’s Turkic (Chuvash, Khakas, Altay, and Tuvans), Mongolic (Buryats), and Finno-Ugrian (Mari, Khanty, Mansi, Mordvins, Udmurts, and Komi) peoples have begun to return to traditional religious practices, often in synthesis with Russian Orthodoxy or Buddhism. A significant portion of Russia’s Turkic and Mongolic peoples (as well as Kazakhs and Kyrgyz) have also embraced a politicized form of Tengrism, or sky worship. To some, the religion presupposed and does not contradict Islam, while to other adherents it functions as an ethnic faith in opposition to the Semitic belief systems of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.