When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine 348 days ago (yes, it’s almost a year since the battle begun), Vladimir Putin had stated that the action was necessary to drive out the Ukrainian neo-Nazis allegedly in control of Kyiv and “de-Nazify” the neighbouring country. Now, the Kremlin has switched tactics calling the war in Ukraine a “sacred conflict” and a mission to bring about a “complete de-Satanisation” of Ukraine.
Since late October last year, Russian officials and the Russian Orthodox Church has called the war in Ukraine, a war against Satanism. In November 2022, former president Dmitry Medvedev had said that Russia’s war in Ukraine was a sacred conflict with Satan, warning that Moscow would send all its enemies to the eternal fires of Gehenna — the Hebrew term often translated as hell.
As this rhetoric grows louder, here’s what Satanism is and how Russia has been pushing forth this narrative.
Satanism explained
When one thinks of Satanism, images of youths pierced and donning all-black clothes gathering at night, listening to hardcore death metal music and sacrificing animals may come to mind. However, that’s not the truth.
Most people believe that Satanism is the worship of devil. But that’s not the case either. By and large, they don’t believe in the existence of Satan as a supernatural entity. Satan in modern Satanism functions more as a symbol of certain things that Satanists worship: freedom, knowledge, fearlessness, power, pleasure. But there’s no God-figure, and no worship.
Peter H Gilmore, current High Priest of the international Church of Satan, explained in an ABCNews report: “There’s no belief or spirituality in Satanism. We’re carnal, we’re sceptical, we’re proudly faithless people.”
In fact, contemporary Satanism took hold with American author, musician Anton LaVey. In 1966, he founded the Church of Satan in San Francisco. He then published The Satanic Bible in 1969, and it is his brand of Satanism that probably has the farthest reach on modern culture.
Satanism in Ukraine war
Since October-November last year, senior regime officials have been actively seeking to rebrand the invasion of Ukraine as a holy war against Satanism. Vladimir Putin set the tone by calling his opponents “Satanic” during a landmark address marking the official annexation of the four Ukrainian regions — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
In his 30 September 2022 speech, the Russian strongman accused the West of being ‘Satanists’ and said that Russia wants to lead an anti-colonial movement to smash the West.
Ever since then, this narrative has been pushed further — that the West are Satanists and that they have been pushing their beliefs in Ukraine.
Later, in October, Aleksey Pavlov, an assistant secretary on the Security Council of Russia, declared that it was becoming “more and more urgent to carry out the de-Satanisation of Ukraine.”
Speaking to Tass media, Pavlov was quoted as saying, “I believe that with the continuation of the special military operation, it becomes more and more urgent to carry out the desatanisation of Ukraine.”
The report quoted him as saying that while he didn’t know how many covens of Satanists were present in Ukraine, he expected them to be in the hundreds. He also stated that the Church of Satan is an officially recognised religion in the US and that its influence had been spreading in Ukraine since the 1990s.
Later, in the same month, a video emerged on social media — shared by the popular, pro-Ukraine Saint Javelin social media account — in which a Russian army officer tells the recruits, ‘I promise that we will win this holy war. Who is fighting against us? People who say that their God is Satan. Satanists are at war with us. People who insist we attend LGBT parades.’
Similarly, Dmitry Medvedev in a 4 November speech marking Russia’s National Unity Day, said that that the goal of the Ukraine invasion was “to stop the supreme ruler of Hell, whatever name he uses: Satan, Lucifer, or Iblis.”
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has also supported this view, saying that fighting in the “special military operation” washes away all sins.
Also read: What is Orthodox Christmas for which Vladimir Putin has ordered a ceasefire in Ukraine?
Furthermore, on 7 January, Tass media reported that Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had branded Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to revoke citizenship to 13 priests as ‘Satanism’.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Russia has used the Satanism narrative against Ukraine. During the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Russian media and television broadcasters had pushed this idea forward.
A mechanical excavator operates on a building destroyed by a rocket strike in Kramatorsk amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP
Why the Satanism push
While it is not exactly known as to why Russia has opted for this narrative, Washington Post in one article reported that the shift toward de-Satanisation was to spur religious extremists within the Russian military.
The report further added that the de-Satanisation push was to garner support from foreign audiences, especially those who distrust the US government. Research quoted in the copy said that the ‘battle against Satanism’ found resonance among the conservative audience in the United States.
Furthermore, in Europe, the Kremlin’s anti-Ukraine propaganda has also found a home among far-right Italians.
It is difficult to accurately assess whether the Kremlin’s rhetorical shift will work in the long run, but for now it is certain that the war isn’t stopping any time soon.
With inputs from agencies
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