Paul Goble
Staunton, Feb. 22 – When Vladimir Putin launched his expanded invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the Kremlin leader said he was fighting satanism spread there by the West; but since then, his regime has released satanists from Russian jails and even celebrated them for their actions, Aleksandra Makhacheva says.
According to the Russian commentator, no one should be surprised by this. Putin often charges his opponents with things he himself is guilty of. Among these is involvement with satanism, whose followers in Russia now form “a subculture whose members feel quite comfortable” there and even have been given government awards (theins.ru/obshestvo/267498).
“For participation in this ‘holy war,’ Makhacheva continues, “the Russian authorities have released from prison murderers, cannibals and maniacs among whom are real satanists condemned for ritual murders.” And some of these, on their return from Ukraine, have again engaged in satanic rituals and landed back behind bars.
As she points out, satanism has a long history in Russia and experienced revivals in the 1970s and again in the Putin years. One reason for its growth is that some Russians who dislike the pretensions of the Russian Orthodox Church or want to limit its influence view satanists, a group whose members vary widely, as useful allies against the Moscow Patriarchate.
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