Orientalists explain persecution of sorcerers in Chechnya by authorities' run for rating

The fight against sorcerers raises the rating of Chechen leadership amid the support of this campaign by many Muslims, Akhmet Yarlykapov, an Orientalist, believes. Chechen authorities are trying to extend their influence onto the sphere of occultism, demonstrating their intention to totally control the whole society, Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst, believes.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that persecutions of healers and psychics in Chechnya were launched in 2013, when dozens of people were detained amid the war on magicians and sorcerers declared by the head of Chechnya; later some of them disappeared. Then, the campaign began decaying. However, since July this year, the authorities have again intensified the persecution of people who are rendering occult services.

Chechen authorities are trying to extend their influence not only to the sphere of traditional Islam, but also to the sphere of occultism, said Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst and the head of scientific researches at the "Civilizations' Dialogue" Institute.

"Chechen authorities are creeping into people's personal affairs, religion, in particular. In Chechnya, the regime is actually totalitarian," Mr Malashenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The actions of Chechen authorities are reminiscent of Soviet policy, where everything everywhere was controlled by the authorities, he has added.

According to Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior researcher at the Centre for Studying Caucasian Problems at the MGIMO, the fight against occultism raises the rating of the republic's leadership. "Such a fight is supported by many Muslims ... They believe that Muslims should not seek help from sorcerers, healers, and so on," said the scientist.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 26, 2019 at 04:57 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.