Table Of ContentPaganism, Traditionalism,
Nationalism
Rodnoverie was one of the first new religious movements to emerge following
the collapse of the Soviet Union, its development providing an important
lens through which to view changes in post-Soviet religious and political
life. Rodnovers view social and political issues as inseparably linked to their
religiosity but do not reflect the liberal values dominant among Western
Pagans. Indeed, among the conservative and nationalist movements often
associated with Rodnoverie in Russia, traditional anti-Western and anti-
Semitic rhetoric has recently been overshadowed by anti-Islam and anti-
migrant tendencies.
Providing a fascinating overview of the history, organisations, adherents,
beliefs and practices of Rodnoverie this book presents several different
narratives; as a revival of the native Russian or Slavic religion, as a nature
religion and as an alternative to modern values and lifestyles. Drawing upon
primary sources, documents and books this analysis is supplemented with
extensive fieldwork carried out among Rodnoverie communities in Russia and
will be of interest to scholars of post-Soviet society, new religious movements
and contemporary Paganism in general.
Kaarina Aitamurto is a post-doctoral scholar at the Aleksanteri Institute,
University of Helsinki and a fellow in the Finnish Centre of Excellence in
Russian Studies – Choices of Russian Modernisation. She began her fieldwork
within Russian Pagans in 2005. Aitamurto co-edited the anthology Modern
Pagan and Native Faiths in Central and Eastern Europe and has published
numerous articles on the topic.
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Paganism, Traditionalism, Nationalism
Kaarina Aitamurto
Paganism, Traditionalism,
Nationalism
Narratives of Russian Rodnoverie
Kaarina Aitamurto
Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki
First published 2016
by Routledge
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© 2016 Kaarina Aitamurto
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Names: Aitamurto, Kaarina, author.
Title: Paganism, traditionalism, nationalism : narratives of Russian
rodnoverie / by Kaarina Aitamurto.
Description: Surrey, UK, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, [2016] |
Series: Studies in contemporary Russia |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015025290 | ISBN 9781472460271 (hardback: alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315599304 (ebook) | ISBN 9781317084426 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Neopaganism–Russia (Federation) | Nationalism–Russia
(Federation) | CYAC: Russia (Federation)–Religion.
Classification: LCC BP605.N46 A38 2016 | DDC 299/.940947–dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015025290
ISBN: 978-1-4724-6027-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-3155-9930-4 (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-3170-8443-3 (web PDF)
ISBN: 978-1-3170-8442-6 (ePub)
ISBN: 978-1-3170-8441-9 (Mobi/Kindle)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Out of House Publishing
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Acronyms viii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Introduction 1
Fieldwork and Ethical Considerations 7
Some Central Concepts: Rodnoverie as a Religion 12
2 History of Rodnoverie 18
Prehistory of Rodnoverie: Romanticism and
Western Esotericism 20
Paganism in Soviet Imagery 24
The Early Phases of Rodnoverie 26
The Period of Establishing the Movement 40
New Currencies and the Present Situation 53
3 Some Central Features of the Religion 63
Size and Composition of the Movement 63
Theology and Rituals 65
4 Saving the Nation 72
The Nationalistic Rodnoverie Narrative 77
Spirit, Blood and Soil 79
Saving the Culture 96
International Politics: Nationalism as a Guarantee of
Social Solidarity and Justice 103
Summary 114
vi Contents
5 The End of ‘Mono-Ideologies’ 122
Pluralist Paganism as an Alternative to ‘Mono-Religions’ 127
Paganism as Folk Dissent 131
Freedom and Liberation 141
Summary 150
6 Back to the Real Thing 157
Seeking Communality 162
Consumerism and Anti-Materialism 167
Risk Society and Healthy Way of Life 179
Summary 182
7 Discussion and Conclusions 188
Bibliography 200
Index 218
List of Figures
2.1 The shrine of the Shag Volka in April 2007. 37
2.2 Maslenitsa in Kupchino, St Petersburg in 2006. 38
3.1 Chur and a labyrinth in a shrine near St Petersburg. 68
3.2 Jumping over fire in Kupala in 2006. 68
3.3 Marena in public Maslenitsa festival in St Petersburg. 69
3.4 Public festival Yara Zhivitsi in 2006, wrestling game. 70
6.1 Kupala in 2006. In the background is a gate, through which
the participants enter the ritual space. 161
List of Acronyms
ARICOOBI Ancient Russian Ingliist Church of Orthodox Old
Believers-Ingliists (Drevnerusskaya ingliisticheskaya tserkov’
pravoslavnykh staroverov-inglingov)
CPR Communist Party of Russia
CPT Circle of Pagan Tradition (Krug Yazycheskoi Traditsii)
KGB Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti (Committee for State
Security in the Soviet Union)
KOB Kontseptsiya Obshchestvennoi Bezopastnosti (Concept of
Social Security)
MAII Movement Against Illegal Immigration (Dvizhenie Protiv
Nelegal’noi Immigratsii)
MSPC Moscow Slavic Pagan Community (Moskovskaya
Slavyanskaya Yazycheskaya Obshchina)
NCARMA National Club of Ancient Russian Martial Art
(Natsional’nyi klub drevnerusskikh ratoborstv)
NRM new religious movements
NSM new social movements
ROC Russian Orthodox Church
ROD Russkoe Osvoboditel’noe Dvizhenie (Russian Liberation
Movement)
USCSNF Union of Slavic Communities of the Slavic Native Faith
(Soyuz Slavyanskikh Obchshin Slaynskoi Rodnoi Very)
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
WCER World Congress of Ethnic Religions
Acknowledgements
I have been very fortunate to have had an extremely supportive and inspiring
environment at the Aleksanteri Institute (the Finnish Center for Russian and
Eastern European Studies) and the Finnish Centre of Excellence, ‘Choices of
Russian Modernisation’, funded by the Academy of Finland. The director of
the Aleksanteri Institute, Markku Kivinen has numerous times volunteered
to read my texts and given most insightful comments. For a scholar of reli-
gion, coming from the humanities but seeking to accomplish a sociological
study, guidance from a good sociologist has been greatly valued. In this
multidisciplinary institute, the topic of my study must have appeared bizarre
to many scholars of international relations, history or sociology, but I have
always received the most thoroughly thoughtful and constructive feedback
from my colleagues. During these years, my colleagues in the Aleksanteri
Institute have offered their advice not only in a scholarly way through their
comments and in practical matters, but have also provided much emotional
support. I am deeply grateful to Sari Autio-Sarasmo, Anna-Liisa Heusala,
Ira Jänis-Isokangas, Matti Jutila, Elina Kahla, Anni Kangas, Markku
Kangaspuro, Suvi Kansikas, Eeva Korteniemi, Katja Lehtisaari, Riikka and
Mikko Palonkorpi, Heini Puurunen, Anna-Maria Salmi, Sanna Turoma,
Elina Viljanen – to all of you ‘Aleksandriates’. In particular I would like to
mention Meri Kulmala and Jussi Lassila. Thank you!
I must also thank the Department of Comparative Study of Religion (now
a part of the Department of World Cultures), and Professor René Gothóni,
to whom I am deeply grateful for his ever-encouraging attitude and support
throughout my career. For a scholar, taking her first steps in research, it is
invaluable to hear from a merited scholar that he or she has faith in your
work. Although there have been several senior scholars who have expressed
such encouragement to me, I would especially like to mention two: Aino
Saarinen and James R. Lewis, who have also opened many doors in the aca-
demic world for me. Also, I thank Alexandr Agadjanian and Peter Nynäs
for their valuable comments for an earlier version of this manuscript. I also
wish to thank Godfrey Weldhen for his help with the language. Hanna Ruutu,
who also who exemplifies the always supportive and helpful nature of the
