Paganism and Russia

Citation :: To RF President V. V. Putin

APPEAL
ON THE NECESSITY OF RECTIFICATION OF HISTORICAL INJUSTICE IN RESPECT OF PAGANISM OF RUSSIAN PEOPLES

DEAR MISTER PRESIDENT!

At the Pontifical meeting that took place last autumn of 2004 in your presence Head of Russian Orthodox Church placed neo-paganism on a par with terrorism and dissolution of morals among the greatest threats of the 21st century. Over a millenium Russian Orthodox Church with direct involvement of state punitive agency always grappled with paganism in Russia. That is why we consider this appeal of representatives of Russian Orthodox Church as an attempt to reinforce discrimination or initiate reprisals in respect of people confessing any spiritual and ideological religions and irreligions contradicting church beliefs, primarily aboriginal pagan, national and natural beliefs of Russian peoples. As you know, the state does not recognize them traditional and Russian Orthodox Church, as a rule, ranks religious pagan associations as cults of destructive and totalitarian trend. At the same time, lives and outreaches of saints, holy scriptures of Christians, Jews, Moslems contain appeals to rob and kill pagans and any dissentients and to destroy their halidoms (see Appendix 1). Following these scriptures some outstanding representatives of Russian Orthodox Church proclaim pagans to be enemies of people and the Russian State, exasperate enmity towards us on the part of society and state authorities. Such scriptures repeatedly gave rise to historical inter-religious wars and serve as a pretext for justification of international terrorism now. Theology of Christians, Jews and Moslems understands pagans and neo-pagans as atheists, materialists and representatives of any irreligious spiritual and ideological schools and health-improving curative practices, development of combativity, physical strength and skill of striving on the basis of pagan ethical systems. More often than not, such confessions consider each other to be pagans and thus injustice in respect of one separate group of believers regularly turns into a global struggle against everybody. In this situation inter-confessional associations do not lead to harmony of civil interests and only act in respect of joint pursuit of “the not-overworld ones”. In practice such actions conflict with real interests of civil society of Russia and Russian nationality.

Resting on the provision approved by RF Constitution on freedom of conscience, considering merger of Russian Orthodox Church and the State to be violation of this provision we suggest that you, being the indemnitor of RF Constitution, should assess the statement of the head of Russian Orthodox Church in respect of pagans. We publicly retorted the statement of the head of Russian Orthodox Church (Appendix 2) and appealed to RF General Office of Public Prosecutor in order to protect freedom of conscience, against slander and exasperation of religious strives in regard of us on the part of Russian Orthodox Church. We did it because Russian Orthodox Church persistently waives inter-confessional dialogue for the benefit of Russia in our partnership and in response to our appeal to convocation (Appendix 3) we received a new portion of statements exasperating enmity (Appendix 4) instead of excuses.
We appeal to you because this problem is much deeper: over a millenium the church and the state prosecuted paganism and dissent, these pursuits went on during the times of Soviet power and come out now in the form of legislative discrimination of pagan associations. There appeared stereotypes in the society formed on the ground of enduring slander in regard of pagans on the part of churchmen. And now Russian statesmen do not frequently know that many people living on the Russian territory remain attached to aboriginal natural beliefs. In some Russian republics their spiritual and national leaders represent aboriginal natural beliefs among their peoples and national problems frequently bear against the disdain Russian officials or even Russian school teachers feel in regard of national beliefs of other peoples.
The church convinces that paganism died and that it is harmful for the soul and people should despise communicating with pagans. However, we are alive and keep ancient ideology, traditions and beliefs, culture of our peoples. We are Russian citizens as all the rest and the Sate should protect our rights along with the rights of Christians, Jews, Moslems and Buddhists.
It will be right if you will learn about pagan beliefs from pagans themselves representing many different aboriginal traditions of peoples of Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia and other European countries.
We are pagans and representatives of ethnical and natural beliefs of different Russian peoples and traditions, we keep ancient beliefs, culture, ancestral customs and high spirit of our ancestors in spite of the millenium of strives on the part of the State and world religions. We believe and honor the godliness of Nature in all its diversity, we believe that Life, Conscience, Spirit and Morality presented in different forms are the qualities initially peculiar for the World as well as materiality. Self-determination what paganism as an ancestral way of life is in the conscience of pagans themselves and separation of pagans from politicians using ancient beliefs as the ground for extremism, fascism and national chauvinism was made in March 2002 in Bitsevskiy appeal (Appendix 5) that formed an international pagan association called “the Circle of Pagan Tradition”.
A look at the backs of Russia, at Volga region, North, Siberia and Caucasus helps to realize that there are several hundred thousands of pagans of different ethnical traditions consciously keeping the belief of their ancestors. There are many pagans in Ossetia, including those killed in Beslan. From the point of view of one the famous orthodox leaders deacon Kuraev, most Russians remain pagans though call themselves Orthodox, wear crosses and sometimes go to houses of God. In the whole world the total number of pagans reaches about one billion of people, they keep their traditions in India, China, Japan, South-Eastern Asia and in Africa, in recent years pagan national and natural beliefs were officially recognized on the state level in Iceland and Lithuania.
Paganism is not only a natural but also an ethnical belief owing to which many Russian peoples keep their national self-consciousness. However, many people have to conceal their religious affiliation as they are still afraid of strives. This is the first time over the millenium when we, pagans of Russian peoples, jointly and openly claim for our right to inherit and confess our traditional beliefs along with Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism that came to our lands from peoples living at the other end of the world. We demand that the state should rectify historical injustice in respect of pagan beliefs of all Russian peoples and undoubtedly keep constitutional principles of freedom of conscience, gentilesse, equal rights of all religious organizations, separation of the church and the state.

Not so many people know that high pagan folk culture and culture of sovereignty existed on the territory of Russia hundreds of years before Christianization. This tradition the traces of which are reflected in monuments of material culture and passages of literary texts – ancient chronicles, legends, folk tales, in “Word about Igor’s regiment” has been gradually destroyed by the church with the help and connivance of princes who betrayed the ancient belief and ancestral customs. The results of millenary irreconcilable and fanatic war against paganism were: destruction of many halidoms and monuments of pagan culture, including our ancestors’ burial mounds; annihilation and discrimination of many peoples; travesty and falsification of history; banning of pagan belief and many folk customs, forcible Christianization or Islamization; oblivion of many ancient arts, customs and traditions of our peoples. Many cultic things and religious pagan values were destroyed or stolen, some of them became exhibits of museum worship and tourist pilgrimage. Churches and mosques are now built at many pagan halidoms, including places of destroyed pagan temples.
Modern Russian State acknowledged the fact of Soviet political reprisals and the fact of religiously motivated strives before and after the Revolution of 1917 in regard of Judaism, Islam, some Christian and other confessions. In the name of historical justice the state considered it necessary to reimburse for damage caused to people and religious confessions. An end should be also put to millenary strives, discrimination and war against paganism. Past treason, oblivion of aboriginal belief of your ancient ancestors, travesty of history is one of the deepest reasons of modern tragedy of Russia and its fault. When Jewish buries fall under vandalism, the President is immediately informed and he expresses his sympathy to Jewish people. If the same happens to cultic burial mounds and halidoms of Russian pagans the President keeps silent. Meanwhile, in 15 or 20 years there will be left only several ancient burial mounds of our Slavonic ancestors subject to state protection as archeological monuments that once outnumbered thousands.
The state is unable to protect them, but then afford us all the grounds to protect our halidoms!

The time has come to rectify historical injustice in respect of Russian paganism, paganism of Slavonic nations that suffered the greatest damage from all previous state and religious policies. This injustice is being partially rectified in respect of paganism of other Russian peoples in national republics of Mariy-El, Chuvashia, Mordovia, Udmurtia and other national regions and lands. The rights of small-in-number Northern and Siberian peoples to lead traditional ancestral way of life and to follow pagan confessions are protected by RF law on small-in-number Northern and Siberian peoples (though the laws are frequently not followed). Then, why do numerous Russian peoples suffer from legislative obstacles of what is allowed to national minorities? And why are national minorities, having the opportunity to follow their beliefs in national republics, deprived of the opportunity to arrange their cultic place and to keep ceremonies ritually in the Russian capital?
We believe that not only small-in-number Northern peoples should be protected in their right to confess national and natural belief, to lead traditional ancestral way of life and to have natural management, but each citizen of Russia should exercise this right. The state should return halidoms to pagans, to make them available for visits and making ceremonies, to give these places for pagans’ protection.
We suggest that you should accept this offer in order to make suitable conditions for development of national cultures of all Russian peoples and prevention of national and inter-religious discord.

We also consider it necessary to strive for the following changes in the state policy of our country concerning religions. We appeal for the support of everyone who values the right of freedom of conscience understood as freedom of religious or irreligious spiritual and ideological choice.

Citation :: 1. The State shall admit and publicly condemn the fact of age-old strives and discrimination of pagans, adherents of national and natural beliefs of different Russian peoples and participation of Russian Orthodox Church in these strives. Along with Orthodoxy, it shall also admit the role of paganism as a traditional belief in establishment of Russian culture, spirituality and nationality. Finally, it shall create equal legal conditions for the activity of pagan communities of all Russian peoples along with other approved traditional confessions and provide them with natural places or premises necessary for keeping ceremonies without any rent on the ground of the right of every citizen to use nationwide property as compensation for the destroyed halidoms, strives and death of many pagans.
2. The State shall provide pagans and all advocates of freedom of conscience and representatives of irreligious spiritual and ideological systems with an opportunity to become competent participants of inter-confessional dialogue, dialogue of confessions, spiritual and ideological schools and the state, instead of isolating pagans and irreligious advocates of freedom of conscience from participation in this dialogue as it happens now. In particular, we received an oral refusal to our direct appeal to state officials of Moscow asking to invite representatives of paganism to take part in actions in the sphere of inter-confessional relations held by the state. The ground for the refusal was the unwillingness of churchmen of Russian Orthodox Church to allow us to take part in the dialogue. In the same way, right advocates defending freedom of conscience and struggling against state and clerical corruption are also frequently refused.
3. The State shall be liable to create such conditions upon which it could stand as an unprejudiced judge and mediator creating equal conditions for an honest dialogue, cooperation, competition between all religious and irreligious ideologies and beliefs in formation of moral and social environment and the future of Russia. The principle of separation of the church and the state approved by RF Constitution serves this purpose, but it is actively disputed by Russian Orthodox Church and is broken by statesmen under its influence which creates conditions for system state and clerical corruption. The analysis of this shameful fact was made by the Institute of freedom of conscience (see Burianov C. System corruption in the sphere of relations between the state and religious associations. Approaches to determination of the notion, forms and basic characteristics. “Pravo i Zhizn”, # 57, June 2003 – http://slavya.ru/dialog/pres03/corup1.htm)
4. Advocating the absolute following of the principle of separation of the church and the state we demand to restore equal rights of all public associations approved by RF Constitution: religious associations shall not exercise more privileges and freedoms than other types of public associations. Russian churches shall not receive more bonuses than infant public associations. Public associations shall exercise the same freedom of constitutional norms as approved for religious associations. The state shall not finance from its budget, including but not limited to granting property to the church, any confessions or separate religious actions, their activity in the army, schools and other state establishments. It shall abandon pulling religious educational classes containing features of spiritual monopoly (in practice – only of Russian Orthodox Church), travesty of history, aggression and discrimination into the system of state education, it shall prevent forced religious education and its imposition, provide students, military men, imprisoned and all other categories of population with equal access to the information on all religious and irreligious ideologies, provide parity distribution of religious and other ideological views through state mass media.
5. Participation of statesmen in keeping these or those religious ceremonies shall not be a mass media advertising object, state officials shall not brandish to visitors of state establishments objects demonstrating their devotion to a definite religion.
6. Finally, the state shall not allow the distribution of monuments of ancient literature, such as the Bible, without special historical and religious comments carried out by religious societies. This primarily concerns the passages of the texts containing: appeals to murders, punishments, discrimination of dissentients, including those of children by their own parents and vice versa, appeals to destruction and abomination of halidoms, groves and temples of pagans and people of other ideologies. The comments shall explain historical context and inadmissibility of understanding these texts as a moral and religious direction, as a heavenly demand to believers in modern conditions. The confessions that do not admit this legal demand shall not receive the right to act in Russia.

In order to prevent the distribution of religious extremism the state is able and shall make educational religious institutions of different confessions hold secular religious studies aiming at the education of liberal attitudes towards religion and ideological range of vision among its students, in what connection holding of these studies shall be assigned to people not belonging to any confessions. This is the state policy we want and hope to see in respect of religions and freedom of conscience in Russia.

To solve the stated problems we propose by joint efforts of state authorities and representatives of ethnical and natural beliefs of Russian peoples:
1. To hold a round table with participation of all interested parties and opponents, to invite regularly representatives of paganism and irreligious spiritual and ideological schools to all actions concerning questions on inter-confessional relations and freedom of conscience held in partnership with the state;
2. Apart from World Religions Council, to form Duma Council on ethnical and natural beliefs and protection of freedom of conscience with the help of which representatives of paganism, secular spiritual and ideological schools and atheists could protect their rights on the level of legislative initiatives and control of abeyance of laws. In particular, this Council could carry out the development of draft laws on “Rectification of historical injustice in respect of paganism of Russian peoples”, on “Holy groves and ethnical and archeological parks”, on “Ancestral communities and traditional use of natural management and eco-settlements”, on “Protection of freedom of conscience and secular nature of Russian power” and a number of concomitant variations of other laws. This decision will allow to reduce significantly clerical pressure of world religions on the Russian state power.
3. To support on the state level holding of “Days of Prince Slyatoslav” programme that will take place from 1 till 9 of May in Moscow and will be devoted to ancient culture, history and beliefs of our county and will comprise festival, fair and annual conference of Russian pagans. (In 965 Prince Svyatoslav, a pagan, defeated khazar’s chagan and freed Russia and the Volga region from heavy imposts). To allow holding the pagan ceremony of commemoration of ancestors fallen in battle for their Motherland during the celebration of Victory Day at the Eternal flame to the Unknown Soldier in front of the Kremlin wall.
Refusal of state authorities to consider constructively these proposals shall be considered by us as continuation of the discrimination policy of paganism of Russian peoples, infringement of freedom of conscience and clericalization.
The time will come and the world will realize with all due clarity that the phenomenon of striving paganism in Russia and other countries of the world is a historic tragedy of the global scope, the tragedy of moral and public importance, greater than or equal to elimination of Huguenots in France, genocide of the Turkish Empire in relation to Armenians and Orthodox Christians or Holocaust in Fascist Germany. This will be an important step on overcoming global religious extremism. We were the first among Russian religious associations to make our own step having adopted the document on “Ideological and religious grounds for attitude of pagans to people of other beliefs and ideologies” (Appendix 6). In our Open letter to Synod (Appendix 3) dated 18.10.04 we suggested that the governance of Russian Orthodox Church should follow our example and we hope that other world confessions will make their step in this direction.

We, the pagans of Russian peoples, constituting religious minority will struggle for rectification of historical injustice to folk beliefs remembering our ancestors who were guiltlessly killed, in the name of continuation of out Tradition, ad gloriam and for the prosperity of our Motherland!
As a conclusion, we congratulate everybody on the ancient traditional holiday that gave birth to Christian Christmas and Jewish Hanukkah - on Solntsevorot-Kolyada! As the Sun changes at Kolyada, let the life of our country change to the best!

ALL HONOR TO RUSSIA!
We hope that people of good morals not depending on their religion and ideology understand us and will support this Appeal by their signatures, express their opinion on the stated problems and proposals by parallel appeals to RF President.

Georgis D. Zh. (Lyubomir), religious pagan group, ecological association Commonwealth of Natural Belief “Slavia” (Moscow)

Speranskiy N. N. (Velimir), religious pagan group “Kolyada Vyatichey” (Moscow).

Gavrilov D. A. (Iggeld), co-chairman of Circle of pagan Tradition (Moscow)

SIGNATURES OF SUBSCRIPTION LISTS IN SUPPORT OF APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT

We, the undersigned, support the group of religious pagan and public associations in their Open letter to RF President on “the Necessity of rectification of historical injustice in respect of paganism of Russian peoples” and fall in with the request of taking actions stated in the letter aimed at termination of discrimination of traditional folk beliefs.

Nagovitsyn A. E., Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, (Moscow)

Mezgir (Potapov A. L.), Kolyada Vyatichey religious pagan group (Moscow)

Enilopov N. V. (Moscow)

Begtin K. O. (Ogneyar), Circle of Ber (Moscow)

Semenov O. N., Chetyre Yabloni pagan association Chetyre Yabloni (Podolsk)

Zobnina S. V. (Verea), religious pagan group, Commonwealth of Natural Belief “Slavia” (Moscow)

Dorofeev S. (Veledor), pagan association “Vnuki Dazhdbozh’i”, WCER Ethnical Religions Global Congress Russian site administrator

Kronikovskiy F., ecological group “Taiga” (Primorski Krai)

Stepantsov M. E., atheist site editor, Moscow Atheist Society, “Union of Atheists”

Vorontsova E. I., ATOM

Novotny U. O., Humanistic International

Ikhlov E. V., Human Rights Association

Ganzha A. G.

Romanenko B. I.

Sokolova N. B., ATOM

Gudskov N. L., Human Rights Association

Dans le même style,

Citation :: ALL-SLAVIC COUNCIL OF NATIVE FAITH BELIEVERS

The First Step

On January, 15 7513. (2005) 1-st International scientific-practical conference „ Native Belief – spiritual essence of Slavs ”has taken place in Kiev - the capital of Ukraina. 38 lecturers and 120 participants have taken part in its activity. The greeting conference was opened by the candidate of historical sciences known for all Slavs, professor J.O.Shilov. It has noted, that the Native Belief has mounted today on qualitative highest level, but to forget about its sources which it is looked through in Renaissance, in any case it is impossible. In opinion of Jury Alekseevicha, the essence of our most ancient belief is kept in Orthodoxy, in its not disfigured ortodox form.

To participants of conference addressed, Doctor of Philosophy, the professor, the deputy director of Institute of philosophy “G.Skovorodi НАН Ukraine” - A.N.Kolodnyj. Anatoly Nikolaevich has sincerely wished successes to native believers on a field of their hard work, called for unity and tolerance, and also has suggested to inform more on a regular basis Institute of philosophy on activity of native faith associations and communities.

Further representatives of native faith and research societies of the slavic countries had a word. Yozhef Mozzola (Svyatoslav), the representative of a Slovak community of native faith „ The circle of Perun ”, addressing to all participants has transferred words of a greeting from native believers of Slovakia and wishes for the productive work. Republic of Serbia was represented by reseacher of the slavic inheritance - Alexandra Obrovskaja which has noted in the greeting about necessity of deep and objective studying of our pre-christian history, refusal of quasi myths and distortions

Vladimir Satsevich, the representative of native believers of Belarus, has paid attention participants to a complex international situation and attempt of the Sion-American forces to stretch and scold slavic peoples. Russian Slavs-conservatives Igor Globa (Vseslav) who in the performance has specified an absolute must of a deepening of spiritual self-improvement of Slavs, represented returning to the patrimonial roots, revival primordial slavic vedic cultures

Having begun in 11-th hour, Conference has come to the end at 18.30, and that only at the request of administration of a conference hall. And wishing to act still was enough. By results of conference the collection of materials and special issue of magazine „ Rod’s Fireplace ” is given. But, the most important result to which realization aspired Rod’s Fireplace Native Orthodox Belief above which we worked already more than year, is a creation of the international coordination structure – All-slavic Council of Native Faith Believers (ACNFB).

We have started with the first, preparatory stage - slavic native faith believers delegated the representatives to organizing committee for the development of the Constitution. From Ukraine - Roman Mykolaiv (Mezhymyr, Rod’s Fireplace Native Orthodox Belief), from Slovakia - Yozhef Mozzola (Svyatoslav, a community „ The circle of Perun ”), from Serbia - Alexandra Obrovskaja (group of researchers of slavic old history „Svevlad”), from Russia - Igor Globa (Vseslav, Church of Conservative Orthodox Slavs) are delegated.

Negotiations about creation of All-slavic Council of Native Faith Believers are conducted with representatives of Czech родноверов, from the organization „Rodna Vyra ”, Polish native faith believers, from the organization „ Rodzhymy Koshchul Polski” and Bulgarian native faith believers from the organization „ Rodna Vyara ”.

The organizing committee is open for an input of representatives and other slavic native faith organizations from the named countries. The only stipulation of the participation in creation od this Council is the absence in the world outlook or ideological system of the organizations the elements of chauvinism or neglect to any of slavic peoples.

Members of organizing committee see an overall objective of creation this Council in urgent necessity of a unification of native faith believers for the general upholding our national interests, protection of culture, customs and revival of ceremonies. Opinions on the expediency of translation of the most interesting development and works of slavic native faith believers on our national languages were expressed. It is not necessary to forget, that an occasion for our unification was informations famine which through this Council we shall overcome also.

The coordinator of organizing committee
On creation of All-slavic Council of Native Faith Believers
Mezhymyr (Roman Mykolayv)

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