Russian soldiers in Ukraine turn to witchcraft for protection as belief in the supernatural surges
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NewsWorldEuropeRussian soldiers in Ukraine turn to witchcraft for protection as belief in the supernatural surgesWitchcraft interest surged in the final years of the Russian Empire – when faith healer Rasputin's influence over the tsar's family caused public outrage Alessandra Prentice Thursday 16 April 2026 12:07 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2958910","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-witchcraft-medicine-putin-b2958910.html","title":"Russian soldiers in Ukraine turn to witchcraft as belief in the supernatural surges"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-6672","index":0}Natalia Malinovskaya, a self-described witch, attends an interview in Moscow (Reuters)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png"...





