Putin's Witches

They have gathered in Moscow to support the Russian president in his war on Ukraine. A ritual "for the good of Russia". They say that as Russian citizens they do not have the right to criticise those who govern.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - "Those who hear, but do not hear, those who see, but do not see, those who are there, were there and will be there, will not forget my word: raise the strength of Russia, direct our president Vladimir Putin on the path of justice". This is the invocation of Aljona Polin, Russia's leading witch, founder of the 'Great Witches of Russia' association, who held a general council of witches in support of Putin on the evening of 12 March.

A hundred or so women dedicated to the magical arts, dressed in habits and hoods decorated with images of birds of prey, gathered in Moscow to express solidarity with a president who, although he enjoys, at least on paper, the consensus of over 70% of Russians, according to the witches needs help because the events of recent days put him in serious danger from his many enemies. "Let the great strength of Russia manifest itself", Aljona hypnotically repeats, distributing her curses to the whole world, to which the sisters of the curse enthusiastically reply "indeed!".

In the middle of the room lies a shawl with a portrait of Putin on it, next to a lit candle. The witches came from all over Russia, arriving at the magic room by underground, where they gladly gave many interviews filmed by Currentime.tv and other agencies. "I help people, I purify their minds and mouths by applying Aljona's instructions to the letter," explains one of them. "You need a lot of knowledge to help people's well-being, and above all you have to help our president with the strength we have. Another witch says that "Putin is fighting for us, against all those who attack him, and we want to make sure that all these servants of lies shut up forever".

Special curses have been composed against the enemies of Putin and Russia: 'Those who pretend to pass through our midst, those who have decided to leave us, those who lie in everything they say, for ever and ever these enemies will be cursed!' And a chorus replies: "Cursed, cursed!". Amongst the witches, magicians also peep out, who in their robes and long beards are very reminiscent of the orthodox priests themselves. Asked: 'Where do you agree with Putin?', the answer is: 'In everything, as a citizen of Russia, I have no right to question the decisions of those who govern us', as Afrodita assures us: 'I always agree with those above us'.

Psidelja, another witch, points out that 'I am not interested in politics, but our ritual is not about politics, it is for the good of Russia'. Aljona herself illustrates the principle that 'whoever is in power is a kind of absorbent tissue, who takes in everything that lives in the people and in the country, and there cannot be a negative president... we have done our rituals in the time and in the proportions that are needed at the moment, with the aim of improving the lives of people in the world through Russia's commitment'. The ritual lasted about twenty minutes in all, with a final physical connection of all the witches joining hands and energies, entering into a spiritual connection with Putin himself, the 21st century Orthodox czar of witches.

• russia
• moscow
• vladimir putin
• war
• invasion
• ukraine
• witches