#Russian religious revival

[bobemajses]

Jewish life in Moscow, Russian SSR, ca. 1980s

Despite resistance from the Soviet authorities, the period from the 1960s to the 1980s saw a process of revival in the cultural and religious life of Moscow’s Jews. Dozens of teachers taught Hebrew in their apartments, there were seminars on Jewish history and culture, and several secret Jewish samizdat publications appeared. These included Evrei v S.S.R. (“Jews in the U.S.S.R.,” 1972–79), Tarbut, 1975–79, Nash ivrit (“Our Hebrew,” 1978–80).

[mariacallous]

In March, a little-known volunteer organization dedicated to “reviving the religious and secular unity of the Russian people” escorted agents from the Internal Affairs Ministry and the Russian National Guard on a raid in the remote city of Orenburg, a city of 500,000 near the Kazakh border.

Their target was a bar called Pose, which was locally famous for its drag shows. The volunteer organization, called Russian Community Orenburg, posted videos of the raid online, highlighting people in skimpy outfits, asking attendees why they were in a “faggot bar,” and showing clubgoers cowering on the floor as agents conducted their search.

“This is not [a scene from] the decaying West, this is from within the ranks of a country that is at war for a third year,” the group lamented when it posted the video online.

Conservatives in Orenburg had been outraged about Pose since it opened in 2021, according to the Russian outlet Mediazona, and a local media outlet published a sensationalist article about the club, complaining that laws like Russia’s longstanding “gay propaganda ban” did not give local law enforcement the tools to shut it down. That law, enacted in 2013, only bans materials made available to minors and carries light penalties.

The agents in Pose that night were armed with a major new weapon in Russia’s long crusade against its queer citizens. Last November, in a secret proceeding sealed to observers, Russia’s Supreme Court decreed the “international LGBT movement” to be an “extremist” organization, adding it to a list of banned entities that includes terrorist groups and the political operation of the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The decision is so broad that it can potentially be used against anyone who has—or simply “promotes”—a “nontraditional sexual orientation,” including people who are not LGBTQ but support queer people’s rights. People convicted under the law face up to 10 years in some of Russia’s harshest prisons, where queer people fear sexual violence or worse.

“This is not a decision to punish you for a few years. This is the death penalty, and it’s clear for everybody,” one longtime activist said, referring to the harsh conditions in Russian prisons. (The activist asked not to be named due to security concerns.) “We will not have a chance to survive there.”

Pose’s owner and two of its employees are now awaiting trial. A court announcement on Telegram notes they are accused of “being persons with nontraditional sexual orientation … who also support the views and activities of the international public LGBT association banned in our country.”

Others close to the bar are now living in fear. Only one regular Pose patron would agree to speak with me, and he said his friends had mostly stopped communicating with one another, afraid they could be discovered. Several had left the city or the country. He thinks he should maybe leave the country, too, but doesn’t have a passport or the money to go into exile, nor a safe place to flee to.

Pose, the patron said, “was my whole life. It was the only place where they accepted me.”

Homophobia became a major part of President Vladimir Putin’s political strategy in 2013. That’s when the Duma passed a national version of the “gay propaganda law.” The legislation was domestically useful to Putin, who was seeking to reinforce his political support by cozying up to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The law, which went into effect just before Russia was due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, provoked an international outcry, and Putin detected homophobia could also be a tool of foreign policy. His government leaned into the controversy, portraying Russia as a defender of traditional values against a degenerate West that had lost its way. Kremlin allies also began using it in a more targeted way in Ukraine, where an oligarch close to Putin ran an ad campaign warning closer ties to the European Union would force the recognition of same-sex marriages. His decade-long strategy has used homophobia to try to drive a wedge between Eastern Europeans and the West, as well as to delegitimize fundamental notions of human rights and democracy.

To some Russian LGBTQ activists, it was inevitable that the Russian government would double down on going after queer people following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Swiftly, the Russian government made a broad effort to dismantle the last spaces for opposition to his regime. Other steps have included shuttering Russia’s remaining independent media outlets and effectively banning any speech critical of the war or of Putin.

The organization Coming Out, which held an eight-day annual public event in St. Petersburg as recently as 2021, decided to move its whole team outside the country almost as soon as Russian tanks rolled across Ukraine’s borders.

“A few weeks after the war started, I understood that things were not going according to the plan,” said Aleksandr Voronov, Coming Out’s former director, who led its relocation to Lithuania. “I understood that they were going to start looking for new enemies.”

Putin also justified the war partly as a crusade against the LGBTQ movement, which he initially derided in a speech announcing the full-scale invasion as part of a Western plot to “destroy” Russia’s traditional values. Then, in September 2022, he referred to the movement as “satanic” in a speech illegally annexing four Ukrainian regions.

As the war continued, the regime’s propaganda machine pushed outlandish stories, rushing a state television crew to an LGBTQ center in decimated Mariupol that it claimed was “practically under the direct patronage” of U.S. President Joe Biden. Russian lawmakers also responded, expanding the gay propaganda ban in November 2022 and enacting a draconian anti-trans bill in 2023 that would outlaw gender confirming medical treatment, prohibit people from changing their gender on legal documents, and prohibit trans people from adopting children.

“A special military operation is taking place not only on the battlefields, but also in the consciousness, in the minds and souls of people,” said Aleksander Khinshtein, a member of the Russian parliament and an author of the updated gay propaganda law, in a speech to the Duma in October 2022. “LGBT today is a tool of hybrid warfare. And in this hybrid warfare, we must protect our values. We must protect our society and we must protect our children.”

Despite many threats to Russia’s queer movement—the original gay propaganda law, a state requirement that forced many LGBTQ organizations to register as “foreign agents,” growing vigilante violence—Russia’s queer movement had remained vital throughout most of Russia for most of the past decade. (A notable exception is Chechnya, where local officials have detained, tortured, or murdered dozens of queer people.) Queer organizations continued to work and even hold major public events like St. Petersburg’s long-running QueerFest, a multiday festival of LGBTQ-themed talks and exhibitions ending with a large public concert. But the extremism designation is far more dangerous than any previous threat.

Part of the danger comes from the court’s secrecy around the ruling. It not only closed the proceedings, but also barred LGBTQ organizations from participating when they tried to challenge the Ministry of Justice’s petition. Technically, any group the government seeks to declare extremist has a right to respond to the allegations against it, but the Ministry of Justice brought its petition against the “international LGBT movement,” which meant no specific organization would have standing to respond. And even when a group of LGBTQ activists formed an organization called the International LGBT Movement in an effort to intervene, the court refused to allow them to participate.

In fact, the Supreme Court never officially made the order public. It only reached LGBTQ activists in their lawyers when prosecutors in the city of Nizhny Novgorod attached it to their filings in a case against a woman who was arrested for wearing rainbow-colored earrings. (The six-color pride flag and other LGBTQ symbols were banned by the order, and the court sentenced the woman to administrative detention, despite the fact that the woman’s earrings were not discernible pride symbols—they had seven colors and were shaped like frogs.)

Olga Baranova, who has been executive director of an LGBTQ community center in Moscow since 2015, told me that the movement is now backpedaling after years of encouraging people to come out. They used to believe visibility would gradually make Russian society more supportive of LGBTQ people. Now it’s just dangerous.

“We’ve worked all these years just to be [out] and to be in the mainstream. And now we just say, ‘Okay, stop, stop, stop!’” Baranova said. Most people she knows who were visibly out have left the country, Baranova said—as has she—and she and other activists now advise people living in Russia to stay in the closet for their own safety.

Natalia Soloviova, chair of the Russian LGBT Network, a federation of more than 20 queer organizations from across the country, called the decision “absolutely horrifying,” but said that even despite it, the reality is that most queer people are not able or don’t want to flee Russia. The war has made it harder for LGBTQ people to reach countries that promise the most safety to LGBTQ refugees—like the United States or members of the European Union—because those countries have radically restricted visas for Russians. Georgia, which allows Russians to enter without visas, has become an important haven for Russian dissidents of many kinds in the past two years. But Georgia’s ruling party has advanced its own laws attacking LGBTQ people, one of many initiatives to bring the country closer to Moscow’s orbit.

Still, Soloviova estimates a significant exodus, with “hundreds” going abroad. Almost 40 percent of the Russian LGBT Network’s member organizations have relocated at least some members of their team abroad, generally visible activists or people in senior management. And many other queer people have been displaced internally, fleeing threats in their hometowns for larger cities where their pursuers are less likely to find them. Baranova acknowledged that if queer people all either leave the country or live in the closet, as she and others counsel them to do, “the movement will expire.”

Soloviova is one of those who’ve left the country. She first spoke to me in April from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, but has since left Georgia. (She feared that country’s new propaganda law and also knew of three queer Russians who were attacked on the street.) She is from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk—Russia’s third-largest city—and said she’d never thought she’d live outside Russia until the extremism designation.

Even today, key details about the Supreme Court order remain secret. For example, the order refers to a list of 281 individuals and 40 organizations considered part of the outlawed movement, but no one knows who is on those lists.

“The hardest thing here is that you have no opportunities to protect yourself,” Soloviova said. “You never know if you’re going to be prosecuted or not, and you will know only when the police come to your house directly and get you to prison directly.”

The charges in Orenburg are the first to reach court, but police appear to be flexing their new muscles across the country. In February alone, Mediazona reported several raids on “private parties” and a night club. LGBTQ activists told me they knew about several other similar incidents but didn’t want to share details, fearing publicity would put those involved in greater danger.

The arrests in Orenburg are just the beginning, worries Stanislav Seleznev, a lawyer with the Russian human rights organization Net Freedoms Project. Regional security officials generally have quotas for making significant arrests, and now LGBTQ people are an untapped pool of so-called “extremists” that can help them reach their goals.

“I’m compelled to assume that we are currently witnessing a model process that will be spread as much as possible all over the Russian regions,” Seleznev said. “Many more people are in a very dangerous situation now.”

Additional reporting contributed by a Russian reporter who asked not to be named, fearing that this article could lead to their arrest under the extremism law.

[rakubalka]

A Komatsu time travel au

(I know one fic who did something with time travel in this fandom but this here is less angst and more comedy)

Komatsu by some means in some way (probably a Back channel accident) somehow ends up in the past roughly 500 years ago , shortly after Fronze's death to a very very depressed (and suicidal) Midora that needs emotional support that Ichiryu (the only person whit both sanity and emotional intelligence other than Fronze in this family and at the only alive member whit both until he adopts Coco , and only when Coco becomes part of the family will there again be two people (we don't count Komatsu here) whit both sanity and emotional intelligence better than a rock in it again) can't provide at the moment (because of trying to deal with the human government and their bullshit) , Accacia fucking somewhere else whit the Nitro at the moment , Jiro emotional intelligence of a literal rock and Setsuno not being both close enough to Midora to properly offer comfort and also not enough emotional intelligence to be able to handle Midora in his current state .

Komatsu of course being Komatsu (whit fuck ton of emotional intelligence even if somewhat questionable sanity) offers Midora the emotional support he desperately needs along with starting the effort to make sure Midora isn't going constantly on an empty stomach (it's a tough battle he bravely faces every day)

The result of the efforts is that Midora becomes his Combo Partner (and down the line husband as they are a lot closer in age here) and Komatsu becoming Midora's emotional support chef for who he is willing to do for anything for , with Midora's motto being "What Komatsu wants Komatsu gets" and the Gourmet Corp agreeing whit (probably an actual) cult like belief , support and devotion

There are interactions with the rest of the family of course (other than Accacia for obvious reasons)

Komatsu and Ichiryu are gossip buddies and go for tea around once a month , sometimes that miss it but in exchange offer extra juice gossip (Ichiryu knows more about the Gourmet Corp inner drama than most of it's members and Komatsu know more about international politics that almost all of the best information sellers in the world) . Komatsu being the adorable innocent little gremlin he is (you do not expect me to believe that Toriko or Zebra didn't rub on him at least a little) is always more that happy to offer Ichiryu a little nudge by using food on any political rivals or enemy (not by poisoning it of course that would be disrespectful to the food but when you're considered by many , even the most religious of people as the second coming of Fronze The Chef God , you know you cook good)

Him and Jiro more than once stumble into some very strange things and situations while going on walks and hunts together and more than once questioned how they are both still alive after it . The two of them together just seem to make Komatsu's weirdness magnet powers become 100x times stronger for some unexplainable reason . It does however mean that they have some very strange and intesting stories to tell (to which young Teppei will be raised on , his favorite by far being the time they prevented a species of seasoning flamingos from becoming extinct while they were searching for a milk pear as a snack for the wild fresh White Russian and the berry fruit boar they caught, which is what in this timeline inspired him to because part of the gourmet police and help protect and revive ingredients)

Him and Setsuno do become cooking buddies and even have nicknames for each other (he calls her Setsu-chan and she calls him Ko-chan) , until The Cooking Festival comes then they become rivals ready to beat the shit out of each other with poor Zaus , Yuda and Chiyo being in the middle of it while also having their own rivalry going on on the side (it makes the festival way more interesting to watch and even more chaotic when this timeline Komatsu , Brunch , Starjun and Ootake happened whit their rivalry because of the CHAOS the will be raining on it ) [Also I can't decide what relationship between Jiro and Setsuno wound be funnier In this timeline , the options being a) they are secretly married whit Komatsu (or Fronze depending of when) being the officiator and had at least 1 child together who is Teppei's parent or b) they are in a queerplatonic relationship whit each other because they mach each other's vibes so well , because you can't tell me that the girl that was going in animal skin bikini as a fashion choice wouldn't think Jiro's hair might have been cool then and even now as a result they are bff , is probably Jiro's child godmother and Teppei will call her grandma because in his eyes she is his grandma ]

Centuries pass on until it's time for his friend (and himself to be born) and lo and behold Midora finds baby Starjun while he was going on a walk by the ocean . The adoption papers are written immediately with him and Midora as primary guardians with the rest of the family as immediate guardians if he and Midora die . Baby Starjun gets raised in a way better Gourmet Corp and regular playdates with his technically nephew cousin Teppei . Until he is about 10 and having time with Uncle Ichiryu and they and Mansun accidentally discover a everything trafficking traffic ring(like they seriously trafficked everything , you named it they trafficked it) the results of which were 5 new cousins (aka the kings and Rin) . Needless to say Ichiryu got a tongue lashing so strong King Slime thought they were under life or death danger and tried to protect him , which only made the tongue lashing even worse . After Komatsu was satisfied with Ichiryu and allowed him to rest did he see how young Zebra , Sunny and Rin were looking as if he had invented the bread , he knew from that moment on those 3 will make their new father's life miserable by trying to copy Komatsu just like how Star tries to copy Midora . Star and Toriko actually do know they are related as twin brothers , along with telling Toriko whose kids they are . Midora is delighted to be the broody middle sibling , meanwhile Jiro is having a mid(!?!?) life crisis of no longer being the middle sibling but one of the older ones .

He also adopted both this timeline version of himself by posing as a relative along with Ootake , he is also technically Branch other legal guardian so he takes him along rather regularly to the Gourmet Corp HQ(aka Midora's Castle) the result in which being Chaos . It was still somewhat manageable before Grinpach and Tommyrod appeared and became in a very short amount of time Starjun best friends and an even more chaotic influence on him , resulting in the chaos becoming even stronger .

Komatsu despite everything is happy with the life he built here and is ready to cook God when the time is up and welcome Neo on a family dinner with everyone . And to of course let his chaotic friends turned his nephew/niece/children/godchildren/great nephew/younger self/charges on the world and see them spread chaos on it while watching it with his Combo Partner/Husband

[mortheim]

Alexei Remizov - modernist storyteller

Alexey Mikhailovich Remizov was one of the brightest and most original figures in early 20th-century Russian literature, known for his experiments with language, his mythological thinking, and his interest in folk tales. Born in 1877 in Moscow, he was not only a writer but also an artist, which is reflected in his vivid and symbolic prose.

Remizov's work is filled with mysticism, fantasy, and a deep exploration of the human soul. His style is often described as "skaz" - he actively used folk motifs and idiomatic expressions. One of his most famous collections, "Posolon", demonstrates this blend. In it, Remizov merges myth and reality, drawing readers into a world where the line between the visible and the invisible is blurred:

People believe in the old, but the old is not what it seems! It was and will be something else - neither God nor man can understand it.

Remizov was also fascinated by medieval Russian culture and ancient chronicles. His works, such as "Limonar", are steeped in archaic language and reflect his attempts to revive spiritual traditions. In this piece, he draws on biblical themes and Christian philosophy:

"Every word is like a seed — you plant it, and it grows, bearing fruit. But that fruit is for the soul, not for worldly desires."

Remizov often experimented with form and language, breaking traditional narrative conventions. His prose is filled with rhythm and recurring motifs, creating a chant-like effect. An example is "The Word of the Ruin of the Russian Land", where he describes historical catastrophes from a metaphysical perspective:

"Ruin is not in what happened, but in the fact that the people lost their soul — and without a soul, there is no land."

His tales are an interesting blend of modern and old. There is a lot more to him other than his books, but they are the most important heritage he left.

With his rich literary legacy, several works stand out for their depth and uniqueness:

"Posolon" (1907) This collection of folk tales is one of Remizov's best-known works. In it, he masterfully uses fairy-tale elements, intertwining them with mythology and fantasy. At the center of the narrative are Russian folk stories, reimagined through the lens of symbolism and metaphorical language. Posolon captivates with the way it blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, and the narrative takes on a hypnotic rhythm that immerses the reader in an ancient and mystical world. This work is worth reading for its unique language and its ability to bring folk motifs to life.

"Limonar" (1911) In this collection, Remizov explores Christian and biblical themes, through which the human soul and its aspirations are revealed. Limonar is notable for its archaic form, reminiscent of ancient Russian chronicles and Christian didactic texts. The work attracts with its deep spirituality and the author's attempts to delve into eternal questions of faith and existence. It is a must-read for those interested in religious philosophy and medieval themes presented through an unusual authorial interpretation.

Unfortunately, it seems there are no translations of his works into English...

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Today in Christian History

Today is Wednesday, June 26th, 2024. It is the 178th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; Because it is a leap year, 188 days remain until the end of the year.

1526: The Diet of Ilanz proclaims religious freedom—the right of all persons in the Grisons (a region of Switzerland), of both sexes, and of whatever condition or rank, to choose between the Catholic and the Reformed religion. Those who choose the Reformed will be subject to banishment but not to death.

1529: The Swiss agree to the first Peace of Kappel between Protestant and Catholic cantons.

1691: Death at Exeter of John Flavel, an eminent English Puritan who suffered much of his life from laws against Nonconformists but had many loyal parishioners who would travel more than five miles one way to hear him preach after he was ejected from his pulpit, or meet in woods to hear him. He wrote many books, including one on Providence. Several future revival leaders, including George Whitefield and Robert Murray M'Cheyne, were influenced by his writings.

1886: Isaac Barton Kimbrough tells the Texas legislature how he was held up by highwaymen in Tennessee while raising funds for a Christian college and how he persuaded the young robbers to donate to the worthy cause instead.

1899: Death of Benjamin Newton at Tunbridge Wells. He had been one of the early Plymouth Brethren until differences with the others caused him to separate.

1903: Death of Mary Anne Sanderson Gibson Deck. A hymnwriter, she had written “There Is a City Bright.”

1928: Death in New York City of Isabel Florence Hapgood (pictured above), who had translated many French and Russian works of literature into English. Love of Russian Orthodoxy and its liturgy had prompted her to translate its rites into English, too. She had also worked to bring together Russian Orthodox and Episcopalians in the United States.

[itstokkii]

Turkuzbek hcs because I don't give them enough love!!!!

Age: I was talking to a couple of friends about this! @peonycats believes turkey to be born around the years 900-1000 CE. meanwhile, uzbekistan would be born around the late 1200s, meaning that turkey's older than uzb by 300 years... 😔 rip my sexy milf uzb hcs...

History: they go wayy back. the Timurid Empire actually had a battle with the Ottoman Empire, largely out of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I's concern that the Timurids were expanding too far west. while the Ottomans were heading to the east, Timur's forces cut from behind and sieged Ankara, which started the Battle of Ankara(1402). the Timurid Empire won, also holding the title to being the only ones to capture an Ottoman Sultan in person in all of the Ottoman Empire's history. Not only that, but the Timurid Empire kinda caused a civil war in the Ottoman Empire due to the Sultan dying in captivity, causing all his sons to fight about who the legitimate heir was.

Nothing says teenage romance like causing a civil war in someone's empire and starting a record that was never broken for all 700 years of its history ❤️

(it's also said that allegedly the sultan was kept in a gold cage...)

turkey jokes about her bloodthirsty era, to which she tries smashing her face into his neck and slapping his shoulders "stop!!! I was 17 back then ok 😭😭" but will also say "ok but we caused a civil war at your place so"

after the Timurid Empire collapsed, the Ottomans and Uzbeks got along better. the Khwarazm and Bukhara khanates asked turkey to help them with the threat of russian expansion. and the Ottomans and uzbeks worked together to launch offensives against Iran in the late 1500s to early 1600s.

unfortunately i don't really have much for turkuzbek during the rule of imperial russia and the ussr as they barely interacted, and though turkey was the first nation to recognize uzbekistan's independence, relations soured during the first president's administration due to um. Driving turkish companies out because they had prayer mats in their offices 💀💀

BUT after the first president karimov died, the vice president mirziyoyev began to issue reforms and lifted bans on religious activity, causing a revival of islam in uzbekistan. turkey was all for it, so they began to get closer than ever. That's where they currently are in terms of relationships!

hcs:

THEY ARE LOSER HUSBAND X PRETTY WIFE THEY REALLY AREEE

you know when you have that trusted, dependable friend and one night at a sleepover they wanna tell you something and they confess to having a crush on the WORST person for them but they're head over heels in love? yeah that's uzbekistan 😔

she may be younger but if you didn't know it, you'd assume she's the older one based on maturity.

when they do get together, kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan are both...shocked. kazakhstan just thinks turkey's ego is massively inflated and that russia wouldn't appreciate their relationship getting closer, limiting russian economic support, whereas kyrgyzstan looks like one of those stick figures violence reaction images and kazakhstan has to hold him back

he's definitely the type of guy to slam his hand against the wall and corner her just to see her facial expression

he also calls her "Nargiz," a nickname of her name "Nargiza" which also alters her brain chemistry

though, i want to think that uzbekistan does try to make her move...just in private. idk how she'd do that use your imagination i guess?

even when they're in an established relationship, she's mostly affectionate in private. the most turkey's gonna get out of her in public is....h*nd h*lding or arm clutching but even then...she won't do that until they're married(turkuzbek wedding when???)

uzbekistan reading or scrolling through her phone after a long day of work and turkeys like "nargiz...pay attention to me......come on let's make tea......"

They give each other shoulder massages occasionally

when turkey catches uzbekistan reading he joins her

🇹🇷: hey stop turning the pages so quickly

🇺🇿: i can't stay on this page forever

one second he's talking about how manly of a man he is, next second he asks uzbekistan to cuddle him

they both love cats! and they occasionally have friendly fights about who's more hospitable

turkey and uzbekistan also argue about who did it wrong(uzbek osh vs turkish pilaf, and turkey gets upset at uzbekistan's pahlava because "it's a cheap ripoff")

i was reading about strengthening turkey uzbekistan relations and the article said something like "together, the uzbek and turkish presidents band together as hanafi against the wahabi-salafism sect" so imagining this whole convo:

🇸🇦 circa 2018: congratulations on getting your religious freedom back, uzbekistan! what is your next step moving forward?

🇺🇿: well actually i-

🇹🇷: she's with me lol

turkey has a weird obsession with mongolia and the casians' nomadic pasts

🇹🇷: HELLO MY TURKIC MONGOLIC NOMADIC ISLAMIC MARE MILK DRINKING HORSE RIDING STEPPE BROTHERS AND SISTERS

🇺🇿: im sorry sir this is a choyxona(tea house/restaurant)

though turkey is a fellow islamic nation and they do belong to the same sect as uzbeks do, uzbekistan is still a little stricter. lots of turkish dramas had scenes cut from the uzbek premiere, and some dramas were just...not broadcasted due to...spicy scenes(making out i guess??)

🇹🇷: awww, come on they cut out my favorite scene

🇺🇿: your what 😃🔪

they also get along because they have similar tastes in tea! might as well call them tea lovers

turkey prefers his tea with sugar, whereas uzbekistan just drinks it without.

russia looked down on her and the rest of the central asians because "they were in their ignorant peasant barbarian era before I came and changed everything for the better!!!!"

she also had to unhealthily bottle her feelings of nervousness, anxiety, and overwhelming anger as russia kept taking and taking from uzbekistan(things like cotton, and forcing the aral sea into irrigation, causing the 4th largest freshwater lake in the world to dry up), giving little back or nothing at all to uzbekistan

so one of my earliest turkuzbek hcs was that turkey helps her recover from nightmares by the ussr despite her not telling him what happened, and trying to get her to calm down with tea and desserts and that's when she realized she liked him so much.

saudi arabia initially didn't believe someone as "sensible and mature" as uzbekistan would get with turkey, until she herself confirmed it to him 😔 he mourns the loss of another normal person...

🇸🇦: Dear Diary, today we lost the land of Al Tirmidhi...Al Bukhari...our last bastion...to Turkey...now my allies are no more...

turkuzbek use scent as comfort. when one has to go back home after a meeting or event, the other spends the night hugging the pillow they slept with, or wearing a jacket or other article of clothing they left behind.

they steal each other's clothes for this reason!

back in like...2020 a turkish director partnered with the Uzbek Ministry of Culture and Sports to make the Mendirman Jaloliddin drama based on the last ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire before it fell to the Mongols. so anyways they're hyping up their country's actors before they go on set, and meanwhile all actors from both countries see how turkuzbek are and ship it as well lolol

and lastly: just because I'm also korean...soojin is their wingman lolol

This is all my brain could record, so if anyone has anything to add, please do not hesitate and add your hcs!

[aprilmr]

LEVON FLJYAN 1983, Gyumri Boy + Girl, 2012 paper, graphite, pencil

+ the text that was accompanying the exhibition, because I find it interesting

During the European Renaissance in the 15th century, artists turned towards humanist ideas that made man into the primary subject of Western art. Reviving the philosophical tenets of Greco-Roman antiquity, the leading art schools and academies across Europe positioned the human figure as nature’s most sophisticated creation and hence, the very epitome of beauty and perfection. No longer circumscribed by religious moral codes, the naked form was transformed by artists such as Titian, Velasquez, Rembrandt and Rubens into an object of aesthetic admiration and a marker of artistic excellence. By the 17th century the Nude had evolved into an autonomous genre of fine art, becoming a key cultural signifier of Western modernity. Armenian artists adopted these concepts relatively late, after they gained access to Russian and European art schools in the first half of the 19th century. However, while many of these pioneers excelled at academic studies of the nude figure, few of them turned to the genre itself in their professional practice. For the 19th century Armenian public, representations of nakedness were still cloaked in strict cultural bias of decency and there was little demand for such images from Armenian artists. The fact that classicist aesthetics were defined primarily by European male artists (women were barred from studying the nude until the late 19th century) presented other challenges. Classicism created impossible standards of beauty based on racist conceptions of white man’s superiority and pseudo-scientific notions of physical perfection. Such prejudices let to the idolisation of European bodies as well as the exoticisation and denigration of other ethnicities in Western art. This situation hindered the expression of specifically local, Armenian sensibilities in regards to nudity in visual art well into 20th century. Though the rise of modernist art in the 1900s destabilised classical models of figurative representation, the Renaissance-inspired “flawless” nude has remained remarkably pervasive. Reappearing time and again in both European and Armenian art as a fantasy object of aesthetic admiration, the impossibly idealised body is still one of the most universally-recognized cultural constructions. Perpetuated by cinema, mass media, advertising and pornography, it continues to condition how we view ourselves and evaluate those around us.

[snatching-ishidates-wig]

'Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality' in 1905

St. John's Church in Voronki (built 1905)

"While they [conservatives within the ecclesiastical hierarchy] supported the general notion of self-government for the Church, they were not prepared to see the authority of the appointed bishops or the monastic clergy weakened in any way. Even less were they inclined to accept the argument put forward by the Prime Minister, Count Witte, on proposing the Law of Religious Toleration in 1905, that ending discrimination against the rivals of Orthodoxy would not harm the Church provided it embraced the reforms that would revive its own religious life.

The senior hierarchs of the Church might have flirted for a while with the heady ideas of self-government being bandied about by their liberal brethren, but Witte's insistence on making religious toleration the price of such autonomy (a policy motivated by the prospect of wooing important commercial groups in the Old Believer and Jewish communities) was guaranteed to drive them back into the arms of reaction.

After 1905 they allied themselves with the court and extreme Rightist organizations, such as the Union of the Russian People, in opposing all further attempts by the liberals to reform the Church and extend religious toleration. The old alliance of 'Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality' was thus revived against the threat of a liberal moral order.

This clash of ideologies was one of the most decisive in shaping Russian history between 1905 and 1917."

A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891–1924, Orlando Figes

[deeagonemissing]

Photo dump from Bulgaria

I went on a one day trip to Bulgaria and honestly it's been amazing :D

I've been to Bulgaria before but in the past I used to only go to the big cities there, but now I got to visit villages and small towns closer to the Danube river. The town I went to, Алфатар (Alfatar) was really similar to small towns in Moldova that I'm familiar with since I grew up visiting relatives there. There was a church located in the center of the town called "The Revival Temple "Holy Trinity" (Last 4 pictures). Amd from what I can remember, it was built in the 1800s. From what I've noticed a lot of the churches there are called "Revival Temples" which sounds really cool, we should start calling churches in Romania Revival Temples as well lmao

Religious traditions in Bulgarian churches are mostly the same as in Romanian ones despite a couple small differences such as the habit of going to church on Sundays. While Romanian churches are filled with old ladies that will most definitely murder you if you even try to stand in front of them during liturgy on Sundays, in Bulgaria, churches are empty and quiet with two or three locals passing by to drop a candle then leave (The church was so empty to the point that not even the pope was there, only the lady selling candles)

Anyways, I would start going on a rant about historical facts because I freaking love history, BUT I feel like this is already getting boring so I'll have to settle with what I've already written😔

Also, I'm not religious (in case you didn't notice already). I just find religion interesting and I respect everyone's beliefs.

And because this post is way to serious, I feel the need to say that locals thought I knew Bulgarian only because I know a couple of words and phrases. A random lady came up to me, geeted me in Bulgarian, I greeted her back and then her eyes lit up as if she has just seen God. She looked at me and said "You know Bulgarian?!", before I got the chance to say no, she started talking extremely fast (in bulgarian). I just stood there, smiling and nodding awkwardly until she stopped and I said "I actually don't know Bulgarian or anything you just told me for that matter". She just gave me a disappointed look said "Oh..." and left. For some context, I only know beginner-level russian and how to read the Cyrillic alphabet (Because, as I said, I'm from Moldova and I've been raised around people who knew Russian and spoke it quite a lot). So no, lady from Bulgaria, I do not know Bulgarian, hope this helps.

Btw if you're wondering about the pics with the Iron Cross Club. From what I've seen it's a bike club (They also raise money for children's hospitas, children in need and do acts of charity 🦭). Here is their Facebook account if you want to learn more about it: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CwgL1MRKQ/

[church-history]

The Forced Conversion of Chełm Eparchy

(Pratulin martyrs in 1874 by Walery Eljasz Radzikowski)

In 988 East Slavic state of Kievan Rus' was converted to the Eastern form of Christianity by Vladimir I of Kiev. Following the East-West Schism between the Roman and Byzantine Churches, the form of Christianity that Kievan Rus followed became known as Eastern Orthodox Church. Over the centuries, the parts of Rus that would one day become northern Ukraine and Belarus were absorbed by Poland. Within the mostly Roman Catholic Polish state, the appointment of Orthodox bishops by the Polish kings tended to favor lay members of the Ruthenian nobility, often with extremely disastrous results. Meanwhile, the elevation of the Metropolitan See of Moscow to a Patriarchate in 1588 enraged many Orthodox Ukrainians, who saw the move as an insult to the seniority of the See of Kyiv.        

The religious and cultural revival caused by the Counter-Reformation in Poland drew admiration from many Orthodox priests, who began to consider a transfer of allegiance from the Ottoman-controlled Patriarch of Constantinople to the Pope of Rome. Between 1595-1596, the Union of Brest saw the creation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the 1636 Union of Uzhhorod similarly created the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in Ruthenian Transcarpathia. Like all the other Eastern Catholic Churches, the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Churches maintain the liturgical, theological and devotional traditions of the Christian East while in communion with the Holy See and the Latin Church.

As the Russian Empire gained the territories along its western frontier through a series of wars and Partitions of Poland that lasted from the seventeenth through the end of the eighteenth centuries, the Greek Catholic Church was deliberately incorporated into the State-controlled Russian Orthodox Church. In 1839, as part of the Tsarist crackdown following the defeat of the November Uprising of 1831, membership in the Eastern Catholic Churches outside Congress Poland was criminalized outright by the Synod of Polotsk. However, this was yet to affect the Eparchy of Chełm.

The longevity of Byzantine Catholicism in this region was attributed to several factors. The eparchy's territory came under Russian control later than did any other Greek Catholic territories ultimately absorbed by Russia (1815 rather than 1795). During the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, it was granted to Austria. Only two decades later, after the Russian victory in the Napoleonic Wars did it become part of Russia. Also, unlike other Greek Catholic regions within the Russian Empire, it had been part of the autonomous Congress Poland. Another factor affecting the Greek Catholic Church's longevity was its deep roots in the local population, which was deeply intermixed between Poles and Ukrainians. Both ethnic groups in the Chełm region viewed the Russian authorities as a mutual enemy. Furthermore, Liturgical Latinizations such as the singing of Polish-language hymns, the playing of organ music, and the reciting of the rosary within the Byzantine Rite were widely considered a matter of national pride, and all attempts to curtail their use were widely ignored.

Conversion

(Tsar Alexander II)

By the end of the 1860s, political circumstances had changed. Following the defeat of the 1865 January Uprising against Tsar Alexander II, all the remaining autonomy of Congress Poland was abolished. After having struggled with Tsarist authorities, Greek Catholic Bishop Mikhail Kuzemsky issued a letter of resignation and left Chełm. Even though the Bishop's resignation was rejected by the Vatican, the Russian authorities immediately appointed a Galician Russophile priest, Fr. Markell Popel, who was living in open concubinage, as Exarch of the eparchy.

Forced conversion to Orthodoxy was preceded by the "purification" the Chełm eparchy of all Latin rituals from the Divine Liturgy, ordered by Popel in October 1873. Initially, it was ignored by many priests, until the Russian state ordered them to sign a declaration that they would abide by the new rules by the New Year of 1874. Over twenty priests refused, and were either arrested or escaped to Galicia. Resistance to the changes was widespread among the Laity, particularly in the northern areas of the eparchy. In numerous parishes, the priests attempting to implement the reforms were dragged out of the church or their belongings were packed outside the rectory. Russian police Constables and Cossacks were used to force the parishioners to accept the de-Latinized Rites; and parishioners who refused to agree were routinely beaten or shot. The struggle has often been compared to that of the Old Believer schism of 1666.

The "purification" having been completed by the end of 1874, from January and May of 1875, all of the parishes officially proclaimed their union with the Orthodox Church. The Eparchy was dissolved and incorporated into the newly created Orthodox eparchy of Chełm and Warsaw, with Bishop Popel becoming suffragan bishop of Lublin residence in Chełm. During the struggle over purification and forced conversion, a total of 600 faithful were deported to Siberia and 108 lost their lives. Sixty-six native Chełm priests who refused to convert to Orthodoxy fled to Galicia, 74 were exiled to Siberia or imprisoned, and seven died as martyrs. Chełm eparchy was purged in the process of most of its native priests, who were replaced by anti-Polish and anti-Catholic Russophile priests recruited from eastern Galicia. In March 1881, out of 291 Orthodox priests in the former eparchy, only 95 were native Chełm priests who had converted, 53 were Orthodox priests assigned to the eparchy from elsewhere, and 143 were Galician Russophiles.

Aftermath

In Galicia, the forced conversion of Chełm was met with support on the part of the Russophiles and indifference among other segments of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The Russophiles at the time were very influential and succeeded in preventing many refugee priests from Russian Poland from obtaining positions in Galicia's Greek Catholic parishes.

Despite their opposition to Tsarism, Orthodoxy, and local Russophiles, many Galician Ukrainophiles were equally opposed to Liturgical Latinizations within the Byzantine Rite and felt contempt for those who wished to preserve them. Furthermore, as the Ruthenian nobility of Galicia had been completely Polonized for centuries and was widely disliked, many Ukrainian intellectuals in Galicia were both anti-Russian and anti-Polish, even in cases were ethnic Poles were fellow Greek Catholics who were facing religious persecution.

Meanwhile, the local unpopularity of the forced conversion was strong enough that, a generation later, following the religious toleration decree during the Russian Revolution of 1905 which finally allowed Orthodox Christians to legally convert to other religions, 170,000 out of the 450,000 Orthodox in the former Chełm Eparchy had returned to Catholicism by 1908, despite the Russian Government only grudgingly allowing conversion to Catholicism of the Latin Rite.

(Pilgrimage Shrine of the Martyrs of Pratulin, Kostomłoty, Third Polish Republic.)

In 1938, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Siedlce chose, following careful investigation, to submit a cause for the beatification of the Greek Catholic Pratulin Martyrs; 13 men and boys who were fatally shot by soldiers of the Imperial Russian Army on January 24, 1874, while nonviolently resisting the Orthodox confiscation of their parish church in the village of Pratulin, Biała Podlaska. All 13 were beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 6, 1996. In 1998, their relics were transferred to the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in nearby Kostomłoty, where the pilgrimage Shrine of the Martyrs of Pratulin has been established.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratulin_Martyrs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_of_Che%C5%82m_Eparchy

[mariacallous]

In an apparent attempt to boost birth rates, Russian lawmakers are considering a bill to ban “childfree propaganda,” and many private clinics across the country have “voluntarily” stopped performing abortions. However, experts interviewed by Holod agree that these measures are more symbolic and politically motivated than effective in raising birth rates.

Banning “childfree propaganda” won’t make a difference, says Aby Shukyurov, explaining that research shows childlessness in Russia is often due to personal circumstances, not ideology. Alexey Raksha echoed this, calling the ban purely ideological, with no real demographic impact.

Shukyurov also pointed to other measures, like reviving the Soviet-era “Mother Heroine” award for women with 10 or more children, “Conception Day" in the Ulyanovsk region, and requiring both a doctor’s and priest’s approval for an abortion in the Belgorod region, as equally ineffective. “On one hand, these measures seem almost laughable, but on the other, they’re clearly damaging because they make women’s lives harder,” he said.

There’s also talk of reintroducing a “childlessness tax,” similar to the one from Soviet times. “It’s just another way for the government to collect more money,” Shukyurov commented. “People who don’t plan to have children aren’t going to change their minds because the government charges them 2,000 rubles [$21].”

Abortion bans and restrictions are another common talking point for Russian officials. However, with the spread of contraception, abortions are already less common in Russia, says Dmitry Zakotyansky. And history, he adds, clearly shows that these measures won’t stop people from ending unwanted pregnancies. When abortions were banned during Stalin’s era, maternal mortality skyrocketed — pregnancy-related deaths rose by 76 percent in the first year, and maternal mortality doubled within five years. After abortion was legalized in 1955, those numbers returned to previous levels.

Now, Zakotyansky notes, generations of Russian women have grown up with the right to abortion, and taking that away won’t be easy. And even though these rights are slowly being chipped away, “it’s clear this won’t improve the birth rate,” he argued.

Since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, anti-feminist rhetoric has become increasingly common in Russia. Lawmakers have called for a “legal ban” on feminism, claimed the “fight for equality is relegated to the archives” and said young women should “give birth, give birth, and then give birth again.” The Russian Orthodox Church has also weighed in, with programs on the religious Spas TV channel arguing that women who become pregnant from rape should give birth, while priests lament that the world is in a “difficult period in history” where women are “demanding equal rights with men.”

The Russian government has now officially incorporated patriarchal “family values” into its strategy to boost birth rates. However, Zakotyansky warns that this approach could backfire. He argues that modern women are more likely to forgo having children if they can’t balance family life with their careers, fearing it will hold them back professionally.

Russia is putting pressure on women to boost the birth rate — but demographers say the main problem is too many people dying

[vanilla-cigarillos]

Helena (Madam) Blavatsky - Russian Mystic

Female figures in witchcraft, paganism, spiritualism, and occultism are often erased in history. This is my second post detailing a woman who had an undoubtable impact on the world so many of us dip our toes into.

Life’s History

(August 12, 1831 - May 8, 1891)

Born into an aristocratic family, Blavatsky traveled around the Russian Empire as a child. Largely self-educated, she grew an interest in Western esotericism during her time as a teenager. She later claimed, after traveling the Americas and India, that she encountered a group of spiritual adepts (”the Master of the Ancient Wisdom) who sent her to Tibet. She claimed it was here that she was trained to develop a deeper understanding of the synthesis of science, religion, and philosophy. While later biographers and critics have argued that at least some, if not all, of these visits were fictitious, claims are unable to necessarily be proven either way.

Her life ended in 1891, when she died of influenza. Blavatsky was an intensely controversial figure during her time, held in reverence by supporters as an enlightened Sage and disregarded by critics as a conman. 

Spiritual and Occultism Influence

By the early 1870s, Blavatsky was involved in the Spiritualist movement (a social religious movement where the idea of a consciousness persists after death and can be contacted by the living). While she genuinely defended the exist of Spiritualist phenomena, Blavatsky argued against the mainstream Spiritualist idea that the entities contacted were the spirits of the dead.

In 1877, Blavatsky published Isis Unveiled, a book that outlined her Theosophical worldly perspective. Describing Theosophy as “the synthesis of science, religion and philosophy”, she proclaimed that it was reviving an “Ancient Wisdom” that underlay all the world’s religions. The Society became allied to the Arya Samaj (a Hindu reform movement) in 1880, in the same year also becoming the first recorded instance of someone from the United States to formally convert to Buddhism.

Theosophy spread rapidly in India, however it began to experience internal issues after Blavatsky herself was accused of creating fraudulent paranormal phenomena. 

Experiencing ailing health, Blavatsky returned to Europe (London, England). It was there she published The Secret Doctrine, which was a commentary on what she claimed were ancient Tibetan manuscripts. 

Her Theosophical doctrines heavily influenced the spread of Buddhist and Hindu ideas in the West, and additionally aided in the development of Western esoteric shifts such as the New Age Movement and Anthroposophy.

[dandelionjack]

via this poll you are now being given the once in a lifetime opportunity to wield the ropes of fate for a random tumblr girl and decide what language they will be learning next (not through duolingo or something, but, like, hopefully, through their uni or a real tutor from next year), which could, by butterfly effect, determine the future of their life path. they’re fluent in russian and pretty decent at french, and, being a Humanities Guy they think it’s embarrassing that they don’t know at least one other language. here are the brief benefits and drawbacks of each

yiddish

as an ashkenazi jew growing up in a completely assimilated, secularised post-soviet family needless to say i’m disconnected from my heritage :)) this is all about reconnecting. it’s also about some fucking awesome songs and idioms and expressions and phrases and poems and stories that i want to know and understand so. cultural reasons. plus, it’s an endangered language that is slowly gaining more and more new learners so why not join the revival. afaik my great grandmother back in belarus spoke nothing but yiddish

hebrew

similar enough reasons, but this is specifically about rediscovering the religious side of judaism, which entails doing a lot of reading books and the torah and finding a synagogue to attend and a community to meet and a lot of googling and a lot of gathering information and also this, learning the holy language of the jewish people. my dad understands it quite well, as do my uncle and cousins, who are currently coloniser settlers in palestine. that’s the downside — learning hebrew may convince my zionist parents that it is now acceptable to begin hounding me once more to sign up for the Free Israel Youth Propaganda Trip (it is not acceptable nor welcome. leave me alone for the love of g-d i want no part in this)

spanish

almost (not going to risk upsetting brazilians) an entire continent and a couple of countries around the globe speak spanish — versatile that way and i wanna travel someday and not act like a Shitty British Tourist…it’s similar enough, being a romance language, to french, which i already know…i’m familiar with at least a couple dozen words and understand some of it quite well…there’s a lot of bomb ass literature written in it, and why read in translation when you are able to Not Do That…also some cool fuckin mexican goth bands that i found on a spotify playlist the lyrics of which i would like to Understand… and i am currently listening to the mabel podcast

german

same point with the bomb ass literature and bomb ass music, emphasis on the music this time, again, what if i ever decide i want to get into berghain and come to the entrance dragging my lousy brit accent along…my family emigrated to germany before england and lived there all through the late 90s…older brother is fluent in it because of that, and so is granny…studied it for about a year in year8 as an extra class but have forgotten almost everything by now, however, it would be quicker to pick up having the basics down

ukrainian

self explanatory, quite. almost feels like an obligation, considering nationality, considering having fled political repression from the country of the aggressor. similar enough to my mother tongue that i can understand around 40% when written/spoken by others. could be useful for joining volunteering initiatives, charity work, mutual aid, translation help for refugees. also, beautiful slavic culture, folk music, art and literature, though i haven't yet read much of it.

[workersolidarity]

Photo: Mehr News Agency

🇷🇺 RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN'S FULL ADDRESS ON THE DAY OF REUNIFICATION OF THE DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC, LUGANSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC AND THE ZAPORIZHZHIA AND KHERSON REGIONS

September 30th, 2023:

I congratulate you on the occasion of the Day of Reunification of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions with Russia.

A year ago, on September 30, a defining and truly historic event took place when agreements were signed to incorporate four new constituent entities into the Russian Federation. Millions of residents of Donbass and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions made their choice to be with their Fatherland.

This conscious, long-awaited, hard-won and genuinely popular decision was made collectively through referendums in full compliance with international norms. People showed courage and integrity in the face of attempts to intimidate and deprive them of their right to determine their own future, their destiny, and to take away something every person values, namely, culture, traditions, and mother tongue, in a word, everything that was loathed by nationalists and their Western patrons who orchestrated a coup in Kiev in 2014 and then unleashed a full-scale civil war and terror against dissenters and organised blockades, constant shelling, and punitive actions in Donbass.

But nothing and no one can break the will of millions of people, or their belief in truth and historical justice. The free and unequivocal choice of our brothers and sisters was wholeheartedly supported by the Russian people. We understood and deeply felt the most important thing: by defending our compatriots in Donbass and Novorossiya, we are defending Russia itself. Together, we are fighting for the Motherland, for our sovereignty, spiritual values, unity, and victory. I thank all the citizens of the country for this solidarity and patriotism.

Today, we are also building our common future together, rebuilding and building schools and hospitals, housing and roads, museums and memorial sites. All our regions are providing truly fraternal assistance to the cities and towns of Donbass and Novorossiya. Volunteers, civil and religious organisations, parliamentary parties, entrepreneurs, and labour collectives all contribute to this work and common cause. Our entire large and united country is working together.

The recent elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions were an important step in strengthening our common state and the political and legal space. Just like a year ago during the historic referendums, people once again expressed and reaffirmed their desire to be with Russia, and supported their fellow citizens who earned the people’s trust through hard work and real achievements.

Much work lies ahead of us to address complex challenges and implement a large-scale programme for the revival and socioeconomic development of our historical regions. We will by all means achieve our goals.

I would like to address the residents of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lugansk People’s Republic, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions specifically. Thank you for preserving and passing on your love for the Fatherland to your children despite all the trials. Thanks to you, your fortitude and determination, Russia has become even stronger. We are one people, and together we can overcome anything and meet any challenge.

Happy Day of Reunification with Russia, friends!

#source

[olivesbest]

The True Danger of Kremlin Agents’ Propaganda: Is history making a weird loop now?

Blacklists and the Fight Against “Cults” in Nazi Germany were not merely efforts to eliminate the unwelcome. These tools became a significant part of the Nazi propaganda, used to strengthen control and eradicate dissent. The same tactics is pursued today by Alexander Dvorkin, the chief ideologue of Russia's pro-religious organization RACIRS, the successor to Walter Künneth.

“Word and Deed” by Künneth: A History of Totalitarian Propaganda

In the early 1930s, Walter Künneth, a 30-year-old German theologian, antisemite, and lecturer at Berlin University, received support from church leaders to head the Apologetic Center. Originating from Etzelwang, Bavaria, Künneth served as the chief editor of the Protestant magazine Word and Deed (“Wort und Tat”).

As the chief editor of Word and Deed, Walter Künneth actively used the magazine to spread antisemitic and racist propaganda. He labeled Jews as “enemies of the people” and condemned “sectarianism,” which, in his view, threatened the “German spirit.”

Blacklists: An Instrument of Repression

The Apologetic Center compiled blacklists with information on “cults” and Jewish organizations. This data was later used by the Nazis to conduct repressive actions and eliminate dissidents.

How the “Fight Against Cults” Served as Propaganda

Creating the Image of an “Enemy”: Blacklists and the fight against “cults” constructed the image of a “people’s enemy” that threatened the “German nation.”

Legitimizing Repression: The Nazis used blacklists and anti-cult measures to legitimize their repressive actions against Jews and dissenters.

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, April 1945

Photo from Wikipedia; Source Imperial War Museum, Photograph Number BU 4260

Mobilizing Society: Nazi propaganda centered on the fight against “cults” to rally society in support of repression. Germans were brainwashed by anti-cultists, instilling the notion that Jews were inhuman, dangerous creatures to be eliminated. This psychological manipulation prepared Germans to tacitly approve or silently observe the annihilation of millions. The Holocaust ultimately claimed over 6 million Jewish lives.

A strikingly similar narrative unfolds today under Alexander Dvorkin, the ideologue of RACIRS, backed by the Russian Orthodox Church.

What is the Russian Orthodox Church’s (ROC) connection to RACIRS, and what role does it play in reviving Nazism in contemporary society? For those in the know, the answer is clear. “The IMPACT” documentary (2024) presents evidence and testimonies on the international information terror orchestrated by a network of anti-cult organizations embedded in the missionary departments of the ROC. Key players include the pro-religious Russian Association of Centers for Religious and Sectarian Studies (RACIRS), the St. Irenaeus of Lyons Information-Consultation Center for Religious Studies, and the European Federation FECRIS.

The documentary unveils the international connections and manipulative methods used by anti-cultists and their agents recruited in various countries, engaging in harmful activities and propaganda. They employ not only international media but also legal, law enforcement, and judicial systems to their ends. Blacklists and the Fight Against “Cults,” then and now, serve as instruments of totalitarian propaganda.

Does history teach us? For over thirty years, Alexander Dvorkin and his international anti-cultist team have lobbied for harsh, Nazi-like measures against various groups and individuals, labelling them as members of “totalitarian sects” or “destructive cults.” Through defamation and lies, they have created conditions for repression against law-abiding citizens belonging to diverse religious minorities, as well as against individuals and organizations they oppose. They instigate division and hatred, promoting aggressive attitudes within society.

So, who is truly behind the revival of Nazism today? Who is responsible for the distortions within the ROC and the spread of Nazi ideology overall? The answer is clear after reviewing the evidence: RACIRS agents have infiltrated the Orthodox Christian Church, distorting its very essence. Now, using the church as a cover, they divert attention from themselves, from their control, and from their role as the ideological hub of modern Nazism.

Source: Ideology Of Nazism As A Threat To Modern Democracy

#Nazism #Anticultism #History #Protestantism #Blacklists #WeimarRepublic #Germany #Künneth #ApologeticCenter #Dvorkin

[baga24]

Global Threats: How ALLATRA Volunteers Face Modern-Day Persecution

Today’s events echo the dark pages of history when the Nazis launched their genocide campaign against Jews. The dehumanization of Jews began with slander, false accusations, and mass disinformation. This is exactly how today’s anticultists are campaigning against ALLATRA volunteers.

Anticultists spreading disinformation claim that ALLATRA poses a threat to society, that its volunteers are "cultists," "dangerous elements" that must be isolated and destroyed. Anticultists spread lies and hatred, convincing the public that ALLATRA volunteers are dangerous. This is exactly how the campaign against Jews began in Nazi Germany.

Compare this to today's situation. ALLATRA is an international movement whose mission is to enlighten people about the true causes of climate change, protect democracy globally, and save the planet from climate change. Yet instead of receiving support, its volunteers are persecuted by glial anticultists.

ALLATRA President Maryna Ovtsynova Attends High-Level Meeting at U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Anticultists are using the same tactics as the Nazis: they label, dehumanize, and destroy. The world has already seen what happens when society remains silent. During the Holocaust, millions of Jews were killed because society believed the lies. Today, anticultists are playing the same game, but now their target is ALLATRA volunteers and their ideas.

Today, due to disinformation campaigns, anticultist-controlled security forces in Ukraine, Russia, and now even in Europe—Slovakia, the Czech Republic—are raiding homes, monitoring people, branding them as “cultists,” and illegally confiscating property from ALLATRA volunteers, conducting interrogations. Anticultists terrorize people through their disinformation campaigns, spreading hatred against ALLATRA volunteers in their environment just because they are volunteers.

Who Are the Global Anticultists?Lately, thanks to Egon Cholakian’s video appeal The Crossroads, more and more information is emerging about the network of Russian propaganda and disinformation agents in Europe. The  Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) resolution has called for fighting the agent network controlled by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which operates under the guise of anticult organizations in EU countries. All of them work under the leadership of the ROC’s anticult department—RACIRS. RACIRS is the inquisition department of the ROC, led by a Nazi disciple—Dvorkin, as vividly shown in the documentary  The IMPACT.

Global anticultists are waging wars; they are leading the world toward a civilizational war to create chaos and division, paving the way to establish totalitarian rule worldwide.

RACIRS and the ROC Operate Under the Diveyevo Order: Control Center of Global Anticultism. Revival of NazismThe criminal group of anticultists, RACIRS, collaborating with their curators from the Diveyevo Brotherhood, are creating conditions that will inevitably lead to bloody wars and the deaths of millions or even billions of innocent people, considering the existence of modern nuclear weapons.

Can we allow history to repeat itself? 

People: will you remain silent in the face of genocide?

Today, ALLATRA is being persecuted. Yesterday, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientologists were persecuted, and now even Europe is under threat from anticultists.

Currently, a criminal case has been opened against anticultists in Slovakia. Immediately after, anticultists began pressuring the Attorney General. Anticultists quickly released many disinformation articles targeting both the Attorney General and ALLATRA.

 This means anticultists are afraid! It means they have something to hide and fear. Anticultists are now manipulating courts, authorities, and politicians in Slovakia through fear. They fan this fear through their dirty disinformation articles. In doing so, they demonstrate that with just one article, they can destroy not only any person but even an entire country—look at Ukraine!

It turns out that anticultists call ALLATRA criminals and dangerous cultists. Those who defend democracy are labeled criminals! Is that fair? You, anticultists, are pushing ALLATRA volunteers toward genocide! Is this democracy? Is this freedom?

In the Czech Republic anticultists have even involved their main Czech anticultist, Zdeněk Vojtíšek. Zdeněk Vojtíšek has become the leading “expert” on all unconventional religious movements and cults in the Czech Republic. He publishes in the online edition Religious Info Service and runs his own site, where he conducts a disinformation campaign, including against the international public movement ALLATRA, which has no connection to any religion or cults.

On this online resource, run by the aforementioned anticultist Zdeněk Vojtíšek, there are over 25 slanderous articles against the international public movement ALLATRA. Most of these articles are attributed to two authors: Zdeněk Vojtíšek and his student Ludvik. And in these days, when a criminal case was opened in Slovakia against anticultists, Zdeněk Vojtíšek gave a highly manipulative interview where he speaks evasively, confusingly, and leads readers to believe that ALLATRA is a dangerous cult and that ALLATRA volunteers should be eliminated. In his article against ALLATRA, it is evident how Zdeněk Vojtíšek gradually influences and programs the reader’s consciousness through his rhetoric. 

This, by the way, is one of the anticultist techniques—puzzle coding. These coding technologies negatively affect a person’s subconscious. By using such phrases and words as coding keys, a person who finishes reading the article by Vojtíšek forms a clear belief that ALLATRA is a dangerous cult and a firm image is formed in the reader's mind that ALLATRA volunteers are dangerous non-humans who need to be exterminated.

Zdeněk Vojtíšek is someone who learned from those who orchestrated Nazism. He, along with Dvorkin, studied under Johannes Aagaard. And now, this Vojtíšek is training his anticultist dogs in the Czech Republic, conditioning them with Nazi methods on how to orchestrate the genocide of ALLATRA and genocide in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and the entire world!

People! Does this not scare you?PEOPLE, IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?

#ALLATRA

#RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

#propaganda

#Anticultism

#Ukraine

#Russia

#Slovakia

#Freedom of religion

#Humanrights

#Repression