Putin’s frightening fascination with the occult

Wearing a long white scarf, military khaki pants and holding a drum and stick, Vladimir Putin smiles as he watches a shaman – a combination of a psychic and spiritual healer – play an acoustic guitar for a traditional ritual. It is 2007 and the Russian president, his close friend Sergei Shoigu, now head of Russia’s national security council, and the shaman are sitting by a fire in Tuva, a remote area of Siberia on the border with Mongolia.

Known as ‘a place of power’ where shamanic traditions are strong, this region is home to Shoigu, a native Siberian Asiatic, who in his former role as defence minister played a crucial role in the brutal invasion of Ukraine. He grew up surrounded by such mystics who believe in the supernatural and the ability to interact with the spiritual world through trance-like altered states of consciousness. Since the invasion two years ago, Russia’s shamans have turned their attention to supporting Russia’s war effort.