Rodnovers are representatives of a relatively new religious movement, which is a reconstruction of the neopagan sense. This is one of the directions of Slavic neopaganism. The Rodnovers proclaim the revival of pre-Christian beliefs and rites as their goal. Some practice the rituals of "naming" and "purification", as a result of which they receive new pagan names.
History of Origin
The first Rodnovers are representatives of Slavic neopaganism, which appeared at the beginning of the XIX century. The program for them was the work of the Russian-Polish ethnographer Zorian Doleng-Khodakovsky, who in his treatise "On Slavism before Christianity" announced the fallacy of the Christianization of the Slavs, justifying the need for the revival of paganism. His work was published in 1818.
In 1848, the book of the Polish teacher and philosopher Bronislaw Trentovsky, Slavic Faith, or Ethics Governing the Universe, was published. He writes that the Slavic gods are different forms of a single god, including the Christian one.
The mass movement of pagan Rodnovers began to take shape in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century among Ukrainians and Poles. In 1921, the Polish neopagan Vladislav Kolodzey created the "Holy Circle of Svyatovit followers." Currently, his ideological followers are representatives of the "Native Polish Church", registered in 1995.
In 1937, the Polish nationalist Jan Stahniuk, author of the book Christianity and Humanity, organized the movement of the same name around the magazine Community, published in Warsaw.
In Ukraine, the first ideologist of the Rodnovers was Professor Vladimir Shayan, a Sanskrit scholar. He collaborated with the Ukrainian rebel army, in which, in 1936, a group named after Perun appeared. In 1945, Shayan himself founded the "Order of the Knights of the God of the Sun."
The situation in modern Russia
In modern Russia, who are the Old Believers, Rodnovers, it became known during perestroika. It was then that religious communities in this direction began to appear en masse. However, they did not have any official status, so today it is not possible to talk about their actual scale.
The first unofficial associations of Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian pagans included many representatives of the humanitarian, scientific, technical and creative intelligentsia. They refused to accept the changes taking place in the country, were against the strengthening of the role of the Orthodox Church in society.
Direction leaders
Since the beginning of the 90s, the first leaders of the Slavic Rodnovers emerge, rapidly gaining popularity. Among them, the writer Alexander Belov, the psychologist Grigory Yakutovsky, the culturologist and philosopher Alexei Evgenievich Nagovitsyn stand out.
The authority in the circles of the Rodnovers in Russia was enjoyed by the national anarchist Alexei Dobrovolsky. He became the author of a program for many neopagans of the article “Arrows of Yarila”, which was distributed in samizdat. A number of his brochures are now on the list of extremist materials. Dobrovolsky was a dissident during the existence of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the USSR, he left for the village of Vesenevo in the Kirov Region, from where he conducted active propaganda work.
Another leader of the Rodnovers at that time was the philosopher Victor Bezverkhiy. In 1986, he founded the secret "Society of the Magi" in Leningrad. Since 1990, it is known as the "Union of the Wends."
Active propaganda and journalistic work has led to the emergence of dozens of such communities on the territory of the former Soviet republics. Then many learned that the Rodnovers were neopagans who were mainly engaged in the dissemination of their ideas, organization and preparation of holidays traditional for the Slavs.
In June 1994, a rally took place on the border of Smolensk and Kaluga regions, which today is presented as the first Kupala holiday in Russia for a long time. Only 19 people took part in it.
Unions and splits
The first officially registered neopagan religious organization was the Moscow Slavic pagan community. She received the relevant documents from the Ministry of Justice in early 1994. Unofficially, she acted since the late 80s. Its leaders were the already mentioned Belov and the Arab scholar, one of the adherents of anti-Semitism Valery Emelyanov.
In 1989, this community held the first pagan service in the RSFSR. It took place near the Gorky Railway. Its members worshiped Hors, the Slavic god of the sun. There was also a ceremony of "anti-baptism" of neophytes, demonstrative battles of warriors.
Very soon, serious disagreements began among the neopagans. It becomes clear how to anger Rodnover. Due to ideological differences, Belov expelled Yemelyanov from the community, and soon he left the founders. The new leader, Sergei Ignatov, is reviewing most of the materials collected by his predecessors on customs, culture and beliefs. He decides to devote the main attention to the "restoration" of holidays and ceremonies.
Due to its official legal status, the Moscow Slavic pagan community initiates the process of unification of all the country's relatives. Relations with like-minded people are being established in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine. The idea of combining Russian Rodnovers into one organization appears.
In 1997, a constituent congress is held in Kaluga. The head of the founded Union of Slavic Communities of the Native Faith is Vadim Kazakov. After a few years, dozens of smaller and larger communities from across the country join the Union. Kazakov resigned only in 2011.
In 1998, the Moscow Slavic pagan community and the Obninsk community Triglav left the Union due to disagreements with Kazakov. In 2002, the “Bitsevsky Appeal” appeared, the authors of which oppose chauvinism, which was very widespread by then in neopaganism. At that time, it was one of the most effective ways to anger Rodnover. The result is the creation of the Circle of pagan traditions. It unites the largest communities of Rodnover, which existed at that time in Russia.
Condemnation of pseudo-scientific theories
In 2009, the Circle of Pagan Tradition and the Union of Slavic Communities find common ground. They make a joint statement in which they condemn many authors who were popular at that time, accusing them of impersonating their work as examples of a pagan outlook and views. The leaders of these communities felt it necessary to warn all of their supporters that when reading the books of these authors, they could be misled by their provocative theories, which are disguised as official science. These teachings in this appeal are called pseudo-linguistics, outright speculation and pseudoscience.
Claims concerned several prominent specialists who were considered former Rodnovers. In particular, the works of Doctor of Philosophy Valery Chudinov, known as the author of pseudoscientific theories and publications in the field of linguistics and ancient Russian history, were condemned. Specialists attribute his works to the genre of folk history. The author of occult teachings Nikolai Levashov, whom the journalists characterize as the creator of the totalitarian cult "Renaissance. Golden Age" in our country, also got it. He is the author of a book called Russia in Crooked Mirrors, which is recognized as extremist. They criticize the head of the new religious association, the Old Russian Church of the Orthodox Old Believers-Inglings. The activities of his community were banned in 2004, as the court considered her ideas extremist.
In 2012, the works of a number of researchers, including the satirist Mikhail Zadornov, were recognized as pseudoscientific.
Learning Basics
Rodnoverie is a belief based on worship of the pantheon of Slavic gods. It is based on fundamental research by a Russian archaeologist, a specialist in the history of Ancient Russia and Slavic culture, Boris Alexandrovich Rybakov.
Those who are close to the Circle of pagan tradition do not have a single view on many dogmatic issues, seeing this as a feature of modern paganism. They agree that the pagan is the bearer of the natural faith and pagan worldview, living in harmony and harmony with her. It is important to recognize the Earth as a living organism, which is considered tantamount to recognizing its Divine principle.
Due to the fragmentation of Rodnover, the pantheons of the gods may vary, but the bulk of the Slavic deities remain unchanged. These are Svarog, Perun, Kolyada, Veles, Makosh, Lada, Stribog, Yarila.
Symbolism
The acquaintance of the Rodnovers with the basics of the pagan faith begins with a certain symbolism. Russian Rodnovers, as a rule, use a 6-ray or 8-ray swastika, which is directed clockwise. In this form, it symbolizes the rising sun.
The carol or the 8-beam Kolovrat can be seen on the official emblem of the Union of Slavic Communities. He is present there along with the dual Slavic rune "Strength", the historical existence of which can only be hypothetically talked about.
Holidays
Rodnovers strive to observe Slavic traditions and rites. There are external rituals involving a large number of people and internal rites, which are gathered exclusively in small groups. For example, the outcome of the first congress of the "Circle of Pagan Tradition" ended with ritual bonfires, bringing "treb" to the deities. Their presence on the holidays was indicated by a large number of special idols.
The vast majority of pagan associations in modern Russia celebrate the four main sunny holidays of the Rodnover. This is Kolyada, Ivan Kupala, Komomeditsa, Tausen. Let's take a brief look at all the holidays.
Kolyada is a festival of Rodnoverians, which corresponds to the winter solstice, an analogue of Slavic Christmas. Its obligatory attributes are mummers who use horns, skins and masks, as well as carol songs, fortune-telling, youth games, and the obligatory promotion of carols.
The comedian is the vernal equinox. It is believed that it is dedicated to the awakening of the bear, the end of winter. Academician Rybakov noted that the name of this holiday comes from the Indo-European root, the same as the ancient Greek "comedy". At the same time, the scientist associated him with the hunting cult of the bear, attributed it to the times of the Stone Age.
Ivan Kupala - summer solstice. This is an ancient holiday for most Slavs, which is associated with the highest flowering of nature. It is noteworthy that the night on the eve of this day surpasses even the holiday in significance.
Finally, this is Tausen, that is, the autumnal equinox. By this time, the peasants had time to complete the main harvesting work, celebrated the successful completion of the working year in the field. In the photo of the Rodnovers, you can see how this and other events are celebrated today.
Scientific View of Rodnoverie
From the position of ethnology, modern Rodnoverie was carefully studied by the doctor of historical sciences Viktor Aleksandrovich Shnirelman. In world neopaganism, the expert identified two main streams. It was a speculative neopaganism, which was spread among the urban intelligentsia. This teaching is practically devoid of any connection with a truly popular culture. Also, the popular religion is being revived in the village, where it is already possible to trace the line of continuity, coming from the very depths of culture.
Most scholars view neo-paganism from the standpoint of Russian nationalism, which denies Orthodoxy, not considering it a fundamental national value. At the same time, there are two main tasks that Russian neopaganism is working on. This is the protection of the natural environment from the effects of modern civilization and the salvation of domestic culture from modernization. Particular attention is paid to nationalist, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic sentiments.
From this point of view, the position of the Rodnovers is often considered by the courts, making decisions on the recognition of certain materials of neo-pagans as extremist.
