In a Dec. 24 news report the Russian news site MK, citing a poll carried out by Moscow’s Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM), said that in 2024 Russians spent almost as much on “sorcerers” and “occult services” as they did on groceries.
According to the poll, one in four Russians believe that “mediums” can effectively predict the future and almost two-thirds had consulted fortune tellers at least once in their life.
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The survey found that incomes in the “magical” segment of the economy grew by 20 percent in 2023 and are expected to exceed that figure in 2024. Internet “consultations” to astrological, numerological and fortune-telling sites grew by 38%. It is estimated that the market for occult services in Russia has reached 2.4 trillion rubles ($24 billion), which is comparable to the nation’s spending on food over the past 12 months.
In parallel to the growth in occult services there has been a similar upsurge in both those seeking online and “in person” psychological sessions, although according to the MK report the market for this is 20 times smaller than for its “supernatural rival.”
Many commentators put the increase in the reliance on astrology and the like down to the feelings of uncertainty and helplessness brought about by the war in Ukraine and sanctions and the resulting economic and social fallout it has engendered.
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Maria Danina, co-founder of the online “Psychodemiya” website said people seek a variety of areas of spiritual support during times of crisis, “Which helps them regain a sense of control over the situation, comprehend changes and adapt to them.”
Russian politicians such as Vitaly Milonov the United Russia party member of the State Duma for Saint Petersburg see this trend as dangerous, describing fortune telling as a “satanic ritual” and Tarot cards as “pictures of the devil.”
He said in an interview with the Gazeta news site that “All this is categorically unacceptable and should be excluded altogether for any person. If someone stupidly has Tarot cards left, burn them and wash your hands.”
Milonov said that tarot readers, numerologists and other “magicians” should be sent to prison for committing acts of a pseudo-religious nature without registering as a religious organization.
This view was endorsed by the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, Boris Chernyshov, speaking to RIA Novosti said that in countries such as Egypt, national broadcasters have banned television channels and radio stations from inviting astrologers, fortune tellers and other pseudo-scientific “experts,” and that Russia should also adopt this approach.”
He went on to say that “Such materials are often presented as entertaining or neutral content, but, in fact, they exploit the ignorance of individual citizens and form tolerance for fraud, contributing to the spread of pseudoscience.”
He said he would be demanding that management of the largest media outlets should replace “magic and superstition with educational projects, success stories, as well as stories about the achievements of science and culture.”
A draft bill to ban the advertising of fortune telling with tarot cards was put forward by the deputy chairman of the Duma’s information policy committee Andrei Svintsov in November.
He told the in-house news site “Parlamentskaya Gazeta” that “The fact is that the interest in tarot in Russia has reached the level of mass psychosis and is still gaining momentum. From harmless entertainment, it has turned into an industry only interested in profit. It is a business built on fiction and deception.”
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