[199] One of the native faith leaders, Dobrovolsky (Dobroslav), like Hitler, was proud of his lack of higher education and believed that "education cripples a person. [191], Rodnovery has a "cyclical-linear model of time", in which the cyclical and the linear morphologies do not exclude each other, but complement each other and stimulate eschatological sentiments. The aim of the Authentist philosophical practice is to reveal one's own true spiritual essence, which is identical with God, Rodwhich is viewed as the complementary unity of Belobog/Sventovid and Chernobog/Velesand therefore the unity of mankind and God, which characterises Russia's special mission opposed to Western individualism. [113] Lesiv reported about a Sylenkoite follower who said that "we cannot believe in various forest, field and water spirits today. [273], In Poland, Jan Stachniuk (19051963) established the Zadruga magazine in 1937, which gave rise to the movement of Zadrugism. [387], The Ynglist Church was prosecuted in the early 2000s for ethnic hatred according to Russian laws, and its headquarters in Omsk were dissolved. [348], Koliada Viatichey (Russian: ) is a Rodnover faction that emerged in 1998 through the union of the group named "Viatiches", inspired to the homonymous early East Slavic tribe of the Viatiches, which comprised well-educated Moscow intellectuals and was founded by Nikolay Speransky (volkhv Velimir) in 1995, and the community named "Koliada". He is associated with the oak tree, and is a god of war; in some respects, he's a lot like the Norse and Germanic Thor and Odin combined. Slavs belong to the group of Indo-European peoples, also called Aryan peoples (do not confuse this term with the term 'Aryan race'). The Ynglist Church too was formally established in the early 1990s, and it is considered one of the most sectarian and authoritarian denominations of Rodnovery. Her symbol, or star, serves as protection against negative energy or dark forces. [398], The Way of Great Perfection (Russian: ) is an esoteric doctrine of Rodnovery elaborated by Ilya Cherkasov (volkhv Veleslav), offering a perspective which according to him never existed in Slavic religion, a Slavic left-hand path. [306], The social context of Rodnovery's growth in Russia differed from that in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. [59] It has deep senses related to its Slavic etymology, that would be lost through translation, which express the central concepts of the Slavic Native Faith. Svarog is the creator of the other gods, associated with smithery. [374] In his writings, Megre identifies the ideal society which the Anastasians aim at establishing, based on its spiritual ideas, as an ancient Slavic and Russian "Vedism" and "Paganism", and many of his teachings are identical to those of other movements of Rodnovery. [51][52] According to Laruelle, Rodnovers believe that it is a symbol of "accession to the upper world". . [340] There are often tensions between nondenominational Rodnovers and followers of well-defined doctrines; it is the case of the doctrine of Ynglism, which is not recognised as true Slavic Native Faith by the major Rodnover organisations of Russia,[342] and of Yagnovery, Ladovery and Sylenkoism, which some Rodnovers opine not to be classifiable as branches of Slavic Native Faith. [97], When emphasising this monism, Rodnovers may define themselves as rodnianin, "believers in God" (or "in nativity", "in genuinity"). [72] Some Russian and Ukrainian Rodnovers employ, respectively, Yazychestvo and Yazychnytstvo (i.e. [392] The locution "Slavic hill" refers to the kurgan, warrior mound burials of the PonticCaspian steppe. Ruevit is a local, warrior god. Having colored animals on colored backgrounds that wouldn't have been "ok" by the Western rules. The Spell of Domovoi [449] In Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, within the Ukrainian diaspora, there are various congregations of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (RUNVira).[286]. [170] Some of them merge Rodnover themes with others adopted from Germanic Heathenry and from Russian Orthodox Christianity. From demons of an old and scary looking witches, banes, night demons . He represents the changing of the seasons and the Koliada festival is held after the winter solstice. [143] Rodnovery typically emphasises the rights of the collective over the rights of the individual,[144] and their moral values are the conservative values typical of the right-wing of politics: emphasis on patriarchy and traditional family. Baba Yaga's Book of Witchcraft: Slavic Magic from the Witch of the Woods | Books & Magazines, Books | eBay! [117] An example of ancestor worship is the ritual of "Veneration of Ancient Russian Knights" practised by the Russian Rodnover organisation Svarozhichi, centred in Yekaterinburg and widespread in the Ural region, on May 9, in honour of the victory of Svyatoslav I of Kiev against the Khazars. [216] Some Russian Rodnovers have attempted themselves to improve relations with the Orthodox Church, arguing that Russian Orthodoxy had adopted many elements of historical Slavic belief and rites,[217] though for some by corrupting their original meaning. [295] The Pamyat movement attracted personalities interested in Vedism and welcomed the ideas developed among Russian emigrees, also organising a conference on the Book of Veles led by Valery Skurlatov (b. The Slavs, who were their creators, are an ethnic group that has existed in Europe since at least the time of the Romans. [372], Anastasians have established networks of ecovillages throughout Russia and in other countries. The Ossetians endonymously call the religion Watsdin (Ossetian Cyrillic: , literally "True Faith"), and practice it in large numbers. Once Christianity became the official religion in Russia, the clergy did all it could to suppress folklore, worried that it was too pagan at its core. [55] The term derives from the Proto-Slavic roots *rod, which means anything "indigenous", "ancestral" and "native", also "genus", "generation", "kin", "race" (e.g. Her symbol, or star, serves as protection against negative energy or dark forces. [349] Koliada Viatichey refutes any non-Slavic influence in their religion, including the label "Vedic" and Vedic literature, influences from Eastern religions, influences from Roerichism and esotericism, and also the Book of Veles. Dobroslav's follower A. M. Aratov, director of the Russkaya Pravda publishing house, wrote about the onset of the Russian Era and the imminent end of Christianity and Judaism. Sources that Rodnovers rely upon include valued scholars like Vladimir Dal and Boris Rybakov. [111] Sylenko acknowledged that the ancient Slavs were polytheists but believed that a monotheistic view reflected an evolution in human spiritual development and thus should be adopted. [122], Rodnovers value individual responsibility as the cornerstone for the further maturation of humanity, equating the conversion to Rodnovery with such maturation. [188], Some Rodnovers believe that the Slavs are a race distinct from other ethnic groups. [120], Rodnovers blame Christianity for transferring personal responsibility into a transcendent future when actions will be judged by God and people either smitten or forgiven for their sins, in fact exempting people from responsibility in the present time,[121] while at the same time imposing a fake moralism of self-deprecation, self-destruction and suppression of the flesh. Sylenkoism is the branch of Rodnovery represented by the churches of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (Ukrainian: ) founded by Lev Sylenko in 1966 among the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, and introduced in Ukraine only in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. Boris Rybakov emphasised the continuity and complexification of Slavic religion through the centuries. [439] The first Pagan groups to emerge in the Czech Republic in the 1990s were oriented towards Germanic Heathenry and Celtic Druidry,[317] while modern Slavic Rodnovery began to develop around 19951996 with the foundation of two groups, the National Front of the Castists and Radho, which in 2000 were merged to form the Commonwealth of Native Faith (Spoleenstv Rodn Vra). Most Slavic people worshipped in natural circles and groves; and it plays a large part in all kinds of magic. Rodnover ethical thinking emphasises the good of the collective over the rights of the individual. [182] Similarly, the scholar Vladimir Dulov noted that Bulgarian Rodnovers tended to have "fantastic" views of history. [118] Rodnover ethics have been defined as a "safety technique"[118] and as "ecoethics", at the same time environmentalist and humanistic, stemming from the awareness that all existence belongs to the same universal, cosmic God. [284] He subsequently left Europe and moved first to Canada and then the United States. [365] According to the definition of Sylenko himself, Sylenkoite theology is a solar "absolute monotheism", in which the single God is identified as Dazhbog. [116] People are viewed as having unique responsibilities towards their own contexts: for instance, the duty of parents is to take care of their children and that of children to take care of their parents, the right of ancestors is to be honoured, and the land deserves to be cultivated. [417] The religion's "main base" consisted of ethnic Ukrainians who were "nationally oriented" and who displayed higher than average levels of education. Some Russians have embraced Watsdin by virtue of the fact that most of the ancient Scythians were assimilated by the East Slavs, and therefore many Russians wish to reclaim Scythian culture by naturalizing into the Ossetian religion. [109] In keeping with the pre-Christian belief systems of the region, the groups who inherit Volodymyr Shaian's tradition, among others, espouse polytheism. [66] They explain that "Vedism" derives from the word "to know" and implies that rather than dogmatically believing (verit), Vedists "know" or "see" (vedat) spiritual truths. [81], Prior to their Christianisation, the Slavic peoples were polytheists, worshipping multiple deities who were regarded as the emanations of a supreme God. Her name translates as She who lives. Zhiva represents fertility, love and marriage. [11] In 2003, the Russian Ministry of Justice had forty registered Rodnover organisations, while there were "probably several hundred of them in existence". [14] Some practitioners regard "ethnic religion" as a term synonymous with "Native Faith", but others perceive a distinction between the two terms. Stribog translates to mean wealth spreader, and he was said to connect the earth to the heavens. [133] Many groups in both Russia and Ukraine have demanded the prohibition of mixed-race unions,[134] while the doctrine of the Ynglist Church includes an articulate condemnation of race mixing as unhealthy. [292] The first manifesto of Russian Rodnovery is considered to be the letter "Critical remarks by a Russian man" (Kriticheskie zametki russkogo cheloveka) published on such journal, anonymously in 1973, by Valery Yemelianov (19291999), who was then close to Khrushchev. [58] Aitamurto stated that in addition to being the most used term, it is the most appropriate because of its meanings. Paperback - April 17, 2021. [2] [281] This text was brought to the public by the Russian Yury Petrovich Mirolyubov (18921970), who claimed that it had been discovered by a friend of his, Fodor Arturovich Isenbek, while serving as a White Army officer during the Russian Civil War. [64] Many Rodnovers have adopted terms that are already used to refer to other religions, namely "Vedism", referring to the historical Vedic religion and the ancient Iranian religion, and "Orthodoxy", commonly associated to Orthodox Christianity. [341] Because of its "open" nature, Rodnovery also hosts in itself denominations which have developed clear doctrines around an authoritarian charismatic leadership. [266] Another precursor in Poland was Jan Sas Zubrzycki (18601935), who elaborated the doctrine of "God-Knowing" (Bogoznawstwo). [38], According to Ivakhiv, despite the intense efforts of Christian authorities, the Christianisation of the Slavs, and especially of Russians, was very slow and resulted in a "thorough synthesis of Pagan and Christian elements", reflected for instance in the refashioning of gods as Christian saints (Perun as Saint Elias, Veles as Saint Blasius and Yarilo as Saint George) and in the overlapping of Christian festivals on Pagan ones. [285] In 1979 he published the Maha Vira ("Great Faith"), a book which he claimed chronicled the ancient history of the Ukrainian people. The Lunica is a symbol worn by Slavic and Viking women. [138], The belief systems of these Slavic communities had many affinities with those of neighbouring linguistic populations, such as the Balts, Thracians and Indo-Iranians. Mokosh is sometimes called the Great Mother. [63] The term was originally also applied to the modern Pagan religions of non-Slavic groupsfor instance, in the Polish language Lithuanian Romuva has been referred to as Rodzimowierstwo litewskie ("Lithuanian Native Faith") and Celtic Paganism has been referred to as Rodzimowierstwo celtyckie ("Celtic Native Faith"),[63] however, "now, especially if you write [it] with the capital letter, the term is understood, first of all, as a designation of the Slavic Native Faith". [376], Ivanovism is a spiritual discipline based on the teachings of the mystic Porfiry Ivanov, based on the Detka healing system and religious hymns. [302] The first Rodnover website on the Russian Internet (so-called Runet)was created by a Moscow-based believer in 1996. [45] According to her, the case of Russia is exceptional compared to western Europe, because Russia neither lived the intellectual upheavals of the Renaissance, nor the Reformation, nor the other movements which severely weakened folk spirituality in Europe. [79] They regard themselves as restoring the original belief system rather than creating something new. Ruling over the Slavic pantheon was Perun, the god of thunder and lightning, associated with fire and mountains and more. It is believed that, for this reason, Veles symbol has stylized horns. [337], In August 2015, during the 3rd Polish Nationwide Rodnover Congress, the Rodnover Confederation (Konfederacja Rodzimowiercza) was formally established. [223] The Anastasians also celebrate the Day of the Earth on July 23 with characteristic rituals prescribed in their movement's books. The staff is covered with cuts which are vertical lines if masculine and associated with the power of Rod, while a spiral or circle cuts if feminine and associated with the goddess of the Earth. [46], The most commonly used religious symbol within Rodnovery is the kolovrat ("spinning wheel", e.g. It is also a symbol for those going through spiritual hardship or hard toil, offering strength and perseverance to those who need it. [353], Scythian Assianism (Russian: ) is essentially a type of Scythian Rodnovery which emulates the Ossetian Folk Religion. The Pagan ritual of Dodola is still practiced in parts of Northern Europe and the Baltic States, in which a young boy or girl sings and dances through the village, collecting money that will be spent on a feast in honor of Perun (the god of thunder), for whom Dodola is a wife. Viy watches over the Slavs, and makes note of their good and bad deeds. [135] Aitamurto and Gaidukov noted that it would be "difficult to imagine that any Rodnover community would accept members who are openly homosexual". [41] The movement of the Old Believers is a form of "folk Orthodoxy", a coalescence of Pagan, Gnostic and unofficial Orthodox currents, that by the mid-seventeenth century seceded from the Russian Orthodox Church (the Raskol, "Schism"), channelling the "mass religious dissent" of the Russian common people towards the Church, viewed as the religion of the central state and the aristocracy. The cultural center "Vyatichi" in the "Russian Pagan Manifesto" of 1997 (Nikolai Speransky - Velimir and others) on the threshold of the third millennium announced the end of the "night of Svarog" and "the morning of the new great day of the gods. Vladimir Istarkhov, in the book "The Strike of the Russian Gods", predicts that in the era of Aquarius there will be a revival of the pagan gods, and the "Aryan power" will triumph over the "Jewish devil. [193] The Rodnover movement claims to represent the return to a "Golden Age", while the modern world is seen as having entered a stage of meaninglessness and collapse; Rodnovery heralds the re-establishment of the cosmic order, which cyclically dies but then revives in its original form, either by returning to the lifestyle and life-meaning attitudes of the ancestors (retro-utopia), or by radically restructuring the existing world order on the principles of a renewed primordial tradition (archeofuturism). [166] Rodnovers of the settlement of Pravovedi in Kolomna, Moscow Oblast, reject the very idea of "nation" and yet conceive peoples as "spirits" manifesting themselves according to the law of genealogy, the law of the kin. For instance, the Association of Sons and Daughters of Ukraine of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (OSIDU RUNVira), one of the churches of Ukrainian Sylenkoism, holds a weekly "Holy Hour of Self-Reflection", in which practitioners read from Sylenko's Maha Vira, sermons are given, the ancestors are commemorated, and prayers and hymns are given, and the meeting ends with the singing of the national anthem of Ukraine. [119], Rodnovers express their anti-Christian views in various ways. [266] In 1995, one of the future founders of the organisation, Radek Mikula (Ratko), had established contacts with Vadim Kazakov, leader of the Russian Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities; the relationship continued in the 2000s and led to Rodn Vra becoming an official subgroup of the Russian organisation until 2002,[320] while it nurtured ties with Polish and Slovak Rodnovers too. A popular sport movement associated with Rodnovery is "Russian jogging" ( , Russkiye probezhki). [140], There are, nonetheless, recurrent themes within the various strains of Rodnovery. The symbol grants the wearer good fortune and a plentiful harvest. [123] This emphasis on individuality is not at odds with the value of solidarity, since collective responsibility is seen as arising from the union of the right free decisions of reflexive individuals. The Trojan symbol represents Triglav, which translates literally as three-headed. The three heads in question are those of Svarog, Perun and Veles. Nevertheless, according to Aitamurto, on the basis of the amount of literature that Ynglists publish and the presence of their representatives at various Rodnover conferences, is clear that Ynglism has a "substantial number of followers". Yarilo, in the Slavic mythology, is the god of springtime, fertility, sexuality and peace. Neo-Paganism and the Aryan Myth in Contemporary Russia", "Russo-centrism as an ideological project of Belarusian identity", "Glory to Dazhboh (Sun-god) or to All Native Gods? [79] Some practitioners dislike it because it minimises the continuity of indigenous pre-Christian beliefs. [128] A form of organisation of Rodnover communities consists in the establishment of places for commonunal living, such as fortresses (kremlin) or citadels (gorodok), in which temples are surrounded by buildings for various social uses. Today, the swastika is officially used by Baltic neo-pagan organizations such as Romuva and Dievturiba. [278] In the same year, Zdzisaw Harlender (18981939), independently wrote the book Czciciele Dadbg Swaroyca ("Worshippers of Dadbg Swaroyc"), published in 1937, in which he laid out his vision for the revival of the pre-Christian Slavic religion. In the modern day, some ancient Slavic rituals persist in Eastern and Northern Europe. Some strains of Rodnovery have become close supporters and components of Eurasianism, the dominant ideology of the Russian central state under Vladimir Putin, whose most prominent contemporary theorist is the philosopher Alexander Dugin. The word Koliada is derived from the Slavic word for wheel or cycle. These ceremonies typically entail the invocation of gods, the offering of sacrifices and the pouring of libations, dances and communal meals. [348] Other groups consider the Belarusians to be Slavicised Balts, especially related to the Old Prussians, and have elaborated a religion leaning towards the Baltic Native Faith, called Druva, whose spiritual centre should be established in the Chernyakhovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, in Russia, where the ancient Romuva sanctuary of the Prussians was located. [26] Other leaders who emerged in this period were Aleksandr Asov, author of numerous books on Rodnover philosophy which have sold millions of copies, Aleksandr Belov, founder of the Slavic-Hill military type of Rodnovery integrating Rodnover philosophy and martial arts, and Viktor Kandyba, founder of Kandybaism. The Slavic mythology personified many aspects of the world, with worshipers believing that waters, forests, households and even illnesses were represented or governed by spirits. They are used to surround evil or protect oneself from it. [299], After Mikhail Gorbachev's Soviet government introduced the policy of perestroika in the 1980s, Slavic Native Faith groups established themselves in Ukraine. [40], The concept of double belief is especially significant in Russia and for the identity of the Russian Orthodox Church[41] and the folk Orthodoxy of the Old Believers;[42] in that country, it is an oft-cited dictum that "although Russia was baptised, it was never Christianised". [114] Some polytheist Rodnovers have deemed the view adopted by Sylenko's followers as an inauthentic approach to the religion. [382] According to the movement, which presents itself as the true, orthodox, olden religion of the Russians, the Slavs and the white Europeans,[382] Yngly is the fiery order of reality through which the supreme Godcalled by the name "Ramha" in Ynglist theologyongoingly generates the universe. In Slavic mythology, Rod separated the physical world from the spiritual world. [418], Ivakhiv noted that Rodnovery remains "a relatively small niche in Ukrainian religious culture",[419] and that it faces a mixed reception in the country. [213], Christians have also been responsible for opposition to Slavic Native Faith, for instance through the establishment of social media groups against the movement. Indra), Iranian deities (such as Simargl and Khors), deities from the Book of Veles (such as Pchelich) and figures from Slavic folk tales such as the wizard Koschei. The Triskele is an ancient Celtic symbol used in modern witchcraft and neo-paganism. [1] The portmanteau Ridnovir began to be used by Ukrainians to refer to the broader movement (not restricted to Sylenkoism) by at least 1995,[60] popularised by Volodymyr Shaian. Only the new people, the sun-worshippers, will be able to survive. He does represent both Nordic gods Thor and Odin although a direct connection hasn't been drawn yet. 3. [211] In 2015, the movement was observed to be small but well connected with romantic intellectuals and nationalist political circles,[425] and with the debate about the ethnic identity of the Belarusians. [271] The use of the term "Vedism" to refer to Slavic religion goes back to Yury Mirolyubov, the writer or discoverer of the Book of Veles. [233] The structure of these Syenkoite rites is modelled on those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. [80] Others embrace the term as a means of emphasising what they regard as the reformed nature of the religion; the Polish Rodnover Maciej Czarnowski for instance encouraged the term because it distinguished his practices from those of the pre-Christian societies, which he regarded as being hindered by superstition and unnecessary practices like animal sacrifice. Rodnovers share the strong feeling that their religion represents a paradigmatic shift which will overcome the mental constraints which were imposed by feudalism and by what they call "mono-ideologies". The Slavic Font has been designed following the typical proportions of the Ustav alphabet (Uncial), translating the calligraphic letters into modern types that still keep the calligraphy effect but in more geometrical harmony. [100] In the wake of this theology, it is common among Slavic Native Faith practitioners to say that "we are not God's slaves, but God's sons",[101] many of them emphasising the ontological freedom of the different subsequent emanations so that the world is viewed as a "dialectical manifestation" of the single transcendental beginning and continuous co-creation of the diversified gods and the entities which they generate. [322], Rodnovery spread to the countries of former Yugoslavia in the early twenty-first century. Ancient Slavs lived in tribal societies, presided over by tribal chieftains, and practiced a multi-theistic form of Paganism. [186] Some Rodnovers take their cosmology, ethical system, and ritual practices from the Book. His symbol represents the connection between the waters of the earth and the fires of heaven. He is likely to have been the highest ranking god in the Slavic tradition, similar to Zeus in Ancient Greek mythology. The four points of the star represent faith, freedom, righteousness and honor, while the circle represents the Sun. [28] Some Rodnovers believe that the Aryans originated at the North Pole but moved southwards when the climate there became uninhabitable, settling in Russia's southern steppes and from there spreading throughout Eurasia. [253] A questionnaire distributed at the Kupala festival in Maloyaroslavets suggested that Rodnovers typically had above-average levels of education, with a substantial portion working as business owners or managers. [53] Rodnovers generally present their symbols in high-contrast colour combinations, usually red and black or red and yellow. In 2014, the Russian government officially registered the Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities as an interregional public organisation for the promotion of Slavic culture. It was believed that dead ancestors existed within the same spiritual plane as the Slavic deities. [246] Though the majority of Rodnover priests are males, Rodnover groups do not exclude women from the priesthood, so that a parallel female priesthood is constituted by the two ranks of zhritsa and vedunya ("seeresses"). [401] Veleslav's left-hand path has been criticised by other Rodnover groups and leaders including Speransky and Irina Volkova (Krada Veles). Add to Favorites 31 Slavic Beings of Myth & Magic, an Illustrated Folklore Book by Alex Kujawa - Slavic mythology and folklore, now in COLOR! [129] Schnirelmann observed that Rodnovers' calls for social justice tend to apply only to their own ethnic community. [176], Some Rodnovers interpret the veche in ethnic terms, thus as a form of "ethnic democracy", in the wake of similar concepts found in the French Nouvelle Droite. [139] Rodnovers started to establish numerous organised groups by the mid of the decade; in 1994 the Moscow Slavic Community was the first Rodnover group to be registered by the government. Among the members are eleven organisations including the Gontyna Association, the ertwa Association, the Pomeranian Rodnovers (Rodzimowiercy Pomorscy), the Drzewo Przodkw Association, the Circle of Radegast (Krg Radogost), the Kadus Association, the Swarga Group (Gromada "Swarga"), the WiD Group, ZW Rodzima Wiara and the Watra Rodnover Community (Wsplnota Rodzimowiercw "Watra"). [59] Rodna or rodnaya is itself a concept which can denote the "nearest and dearest", and such impersonal community as one's native home or land. [313] The 1940s Zadrugist movement inspired the establishment in 1996 of the Association of Native Faith (Zrzeszenie Rodzimej Wiary; now simply called Rodzima Wiara, "Native Faith"),[314] whose founder Stanisaw Potrzebowski wrote his doctoral thesis on the pre-war Zadrugism in German. [312], In Poland, the Wrocaw-based publishing house Toporze reissued Stachniuk's works and those of his disciple Antoni Wacyk. [361], In Ukraine, there are currents of Rodnovery which are peculiar to the Ukrainians. [14] The ethnonym "Slavs" (Polish: Sowianie, South Slavic: Sloveni, Russian: Slavyane), derives from the Proto-Slavic root *slovo, "word", and means "those who speak the same words", and according to Rodnovers it has the religious connotation of "praising one's gods". [276] He did not develop his ideas into a religion, and those who shared his views remained "a very loose and diverse intellectual clique". [290] The journal attracted various personalities, including Anatoly Ivanov, the artist Konstantin Vasilyev (19421974), and Nikolay Bogdanov, among others.