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So, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church wants to ban Satanism Meduza explains how the crackdown would expand ‘anti-extremism’ policing and expose new ideological hypocrisies

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1

What happened?

Vladimir Gundyaev, more commonly known as Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has called on the state to designate Satanism as an illegal “extremist movement,” banning it alongside such entities as the “LGBT international movement,” Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, and the vaguely defined “Prisoner’s Criminal Unity” youth culture. The Patriarch raised the initiative on January 28 at the opening of Russia’s 33rd International Christmas Educational Readings.

Kirill declared:

“[…] consider this: in the special military operation [sic] zone, on the front lines, our warriors are ready to sacrifice their lives for values that Satanists are clearly trampling.”

The Patriarch’s concerns aren’t superstitious but ideological. The problem isn’t “merely some kind of magic or exoticism,” he argues, but an “ideology that undermines our national consciousness.” Kirill believes that Satanism “weakens [the Russian] people and provokes divisions within society in the name of idol worship.” He’s calling on the state authorities to “counter the spread of occultism among the population” and to monitor “neo-pagan activities” in education, spanning kindergartens, schools, vocational schools, colleges, and universities.

2

What are the odds that Russia will now ban Satanism as an “extremist movement”?

It’s too soon to say, but the chances are likely high. Patriarch Kirill isn’t Russia’s only prominent figure lobbying for the prohibition of Satanism; he joins advocates in the State Duma who endorsed this initiative last summer, when United Russia lawmaker Olga Timofeeva, who heads the Duma’s Committee on the Development of Civil Society and Issues of Public and Religious Associations, urged her colleagues to “fight fascists, Satanists, and Nazis who rely on the forces of evil.”

Wait, Russia is overrun with Satanists?

When denouncing “Satanists,” figures like Patriarch Kirill and State Duma deputy Olga Timofeeva seem to have in mind everyone on the government’s shitlist.

When Russia’s federal legislature held hearings in July 2024, “experts” claimed that Satanism includes so-called “death groups,” LGBTQ people, and the “childfree movement.” Others testified that Satanism fuels the “eco-extremism” and “eco-terrorism” supposedly at the heart of the “green agenda.” Some deputies, such as Tatyana Butskaya, have argued that Satanism “masquerades” as youth subcultures like “quadrobing,” “furries,” and “therians.”

If the authorities ban “Satanism” as a means of persecuting certain subcultures and activists, it wouldn’t be the first time Russia has outlawed a fictional or vaguely defined “movement.” For example, the government has already slapped “extremism” labels on the nonexistent “International LGBT Movement” and banned the slogan popularized by grassroots protesters who mobilized in support of jailed Khabarovsk Governor Sergey Furgal.

3

What will happen to people who are labeled “Satanists”?

The same thing that happens to every other “extremist” in Russia.

As a first offense, “displaying the symbols of an extremist organization” is a misdemeanor, but a single repeat violation makes it a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. In the current scenario, the Supreme Court could ban any symbols it deems to be associated with “Satanism.” (See below for more about what could qualify.)

Whatever symbols the authorities flag, the people most at risk of prosecution would be suspects designated as “participants” and “organizers” in the “movement.”

At the same time, existing precedent suggests that criminal prosecutions against symbols associated with a form of “extremism” as particular as Satanism are unlikely to be widespread in Russia. For example, in all of 2024, just three people were fined for displaying symbols associated with Sergey Furgal’s supporters (including one case where someone wore a T-shirt bearing the former governor’s face).

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4

Who actually calls themselves “Satanists”?

Our world boasts a wide variety of people who identify as Satanists, ranging from civil activists to neo-Nazis, making for some strange bedfellows. Most of them don’t believe that Beelzebub actually exists.

One of modern Satanism’s largest factions is the Church of Satan, founded in 1966 in the U.S. by Anton LaVey. For LaVey and his followers, Satanism was more about dramatic and provocative aesthetics, with the Devil serving as a symbol highlighting humanity’s animalistic nature. Members of the Church of Satan believe in the supernatural and even conduct rituals, but they do not consider the Devil to be real. Libertarian ideas have strongly influenced this strain of Satanism; many of LaVey’s supporters view themselves as society’s elite.

Another prominent form of modern Satanism emerged in the 2010s around the non-theistic organization known as The Satanic Temple, whose followers and members are staunch rationalists. Established in reaction to the "intrusion of Christian values on American politics,” the Satanic Temple actively advocates for progressive causes, including the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and individuals undergoing drug rehabilitation programs. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office banned the Satanic Temple as an “undesirable organization” in December 2024.

A small minority of modern Satanists believe that the Devil is real. Most are pagans affiliated with the Temple of Set, an organization founded by former members of the Church of Satan. They argue that the Christian Satan is, in fact, the ancient Egyptian deity Set — a god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners.

There are also fringe Satanist groups, often aligned with far-right and neo-Nazi movements.

5

What are the symbols of “true” Satanists?

You’ll be disappointed to learn that there’s no single, definitive list of Satanic symbols.

Modern Satanists draw on occult symbolism from a wide range of contexts and religious practices, including medieval alchemy, Scandinavian runes, Hinduism, Judaism, New Age spirituality, and popular culture (for instance, horror films).

The symbols most commonly associated with Satanists include depictions and statues of Baphomet, the inverted cross, the “number of the beast” (666), the inverted pentagram enclosed in a circle (pentacles), the so-called Sigil of Baphomet, alchemical symbols for sulfur, the Leviathan Cross, and illustrations from Kabbalistic texts.

The concept of Baphomet originated in 14th-century France during the trial of the Knights Templar, who were accused of worshiping this fictional pagan deity. Soon after, alchemists and occultists adopted the concept. In popular culture, Baphomet is often equated with Satan. The Satanic Temple officially uses Baphomet as one of its symbols.
(Photo by Culture Club/Bridgeman via Getty Images)

In other words, it’s unclear what the Russian authorities might classify as “Satanic extremism,” and this uncertainty extends to artwork on the subject. For example, would Russia ban the classic film Rosemary’s Baby? We don’t know.

Russia’s movie and streaming industry has already faced prosecution under laws against the promotion of “LGBT symbols.” For example, regulators fined the Okko streaming service under this statute in 2023 for offering an uncensored copy of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Competing digital platforms Premier and Start have faced similar problems

6

What organizations could be banned if Russia goes forward with this?

Again, it’s hard to say.

Contemporary Russia has never hosted official branches of leading Satanic groups, nor has there been a single, cohesive Satanic movement. In Russia, Satanism is a relatively small subcultural phenomenon.

As mentioned above, Russia banned the American Satanic Temple last December, claiming that the group’s progressive agenda promotes “occult ideology,” “uses Satanic symbolism to discredit traditional spiritual and moral values,” and “propagates destructive pseudo-theological ideas and justifies violence against people” (supposedly with the U.S. government’s support). 

The Russian authorities’ objections to “Satanism” are largely rooted in radical conservativism, namely anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry. Politicians and propagandists often apply the term to anything they consider “blasphemous” or insulting to “the feelings of believers,” including deviations from so-called “traditional values.” If Russia bans “Satanists” as extremists, officials will likely embrace broad interpretations of their ideology that expand the state’s remit to persecute the LGBTQ+ community and activists advocating for its rights.

7

But doesn’t the Russian Orthodox Church use Satanic symbols in its own icons?

On a large scale — no, definitely not.

Meduza could find no evidence of the “number of the beast,” inverted pentagrams, or Baphomet on any Russian Orthodox icons we know (such as depictions of the “Descent into Hell” or works dedicated to the Last Judgment).

Igor Prekup, an archpriest of the semi-autonomous Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, told Meduza that he, too, could not recall any Satanic symbols on Orthodox icons. “Some might have appeared on certain icons accidentally, but I can’t recall any venerated ones,” Prekup said.

According to one theory, Andrei Rublev’s icon “The Transfiguration of Christ” depicts Jesus Christ against the backdrop of an inverted pentagram. The official website of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills in Moscow mentions this interpretation, claiming that the inverted star “was long interpreted as a symbol of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.” It’s unlikely any of this would become illegal symbology if Satanism is made “extremist” (though Russia’s repressive apparatus has admittedly missed subtleties before).

Andrei Rublev, “The Transfiguration of Christ,” 1405The Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow
Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow

In the Orthodox tradition, there is occasional mention of “hellish icons,” meaning “Satanic” images that frauds tried to pass off as sacred depictions. The first recorded mention of such an “anti-icon” dates back to the 16th century in the apocryphal life of Saint Basil the Blessed.

According to the author of the hagiography, the Devil bribed an icon painter with fifty gold coins to depict Satan in the form of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Perceiving the devil’s cunning through the Holy Spirit,” Basil instructed one of his disciples to take a large stone and split the icon in two. The disciple hesitated, so the saint did it himself. Basil was beaten and brought to trial, where he declared that “the devil’s enchantments produced miracles to lead the faithful astray.” In the story, the depiction of the devil was then discovered, and the icon painter was executed.

8

How does the Russian Orthodox community feel about Patriarch Kirill’s crusade against Satanism?

Opinions vary widely.

Father Fyodor Lukyanov, who chairs the church’s Patriarchal Commission on Family, Motherhood, and Childhood Protection, has already endorsed the Patriarch’s initiative. Lukyanov connects the Devil’s reputation as “a murderer of men” to Satanists’ support for abortion rights:

This terrifying ideology has already infiltrated Russia. We see interviews and publications from people who belong to this subculture: it’s propaganda for abortion and ritual sacrifices and a suicidal and destructive ideology fused with misanthropy and hatred of children.

Here’s what Archpriest Igor Prekup told Meduza about Patriarch Kirill’s proposal:

Any Satanist accused of extremism could reply, “Look who’s talking!” — and they’d get not just understanding but even support from people well beyond the Satanist community. If Russia’s leadership wants Satanism to start gaining sympathy among opponents of the war, they should do exactly what Patriarch Kirill proposes, with his blessing.

And you might ask about the so-called “values” that the Patriarch claims Russian soldiers are defending in Ukraine. Undoubtedly, some fight out of ideological conviction, but many do it for money and the advantages it brings. Criminals fight for the chance, if they survive, to escape their sentences. For this, they go to kill people — many of whom would never have picked up a weapon under other circumstances. It seems to me that the values for which many Russian soldiers kill and sacrifice themselves are, in fact, quite familiar to Satanists.

And if we’re discussing what is destructive to national identity, to society as a whole, and the Church in particular, then the deceitful subversion of values within the Church is more dangerous (to both the Church and society) than overt Satanism beyond its walls.

Further reading

‘It could undermine the traditional family’ Insiders say the Kremlin is keeping an anti-domestic violence law in limbo on purpose. Here’s why.

Further reading

‘It could undermine the traditional family’ Insiders say the Kremlin is keeping an anti-domestic violence law in limbo on purpose. Here’s why.

Text by Petr Sapozhnikov and Meduza’s Razbor Team

Translation by Kevin Rothrock