Russian shaman plans to sacrifice 60 camels in bizarre bid to help Putin win war with Ukraine
A Russian shaman has said he will sacrifice 60 camels to help Russia win its war with Ukraine. Artur Tsybikov has said he will partake in a ‘marathon’ ritual, involving the slaughter of five camels every month for a whole year - or 60 animals in total.
The shaman says that by doing so, he’ll be helping secure a win for President Vladimir Putin in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, which has entered its fifth year.
Tsybikov has said the slaughtered animals will be a gift to the gods and is hoping to begin the ritual this month in Angarsk, near Irkutsk.
“We want to send 60 camels to the Slavic gods to ask for their forgiveness, help and support,” he said, according to Metro.
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“All the ancestral gods will come. We will feed them, sit with them, talk to them and ask for forgiveness.”
He said the animals would be sacrificed ‘on behalf of all the peoples of Russia’ and believes the ritual will mean ‘everything comes to an end sooner, with our victory in the war.’
Tsybikov is known for backing Putin in elections and has reportedly carried out past rituals to help ensure his victory.
But Tsybikov’s latest announcement has drawn criticism from the shamanic community in Buryatia, where he hails from, The Times reports.
It’s also been reported to the local prosecutor’s office by animal rights campaigners.
However, many of those living in the country say they aren’t convinced that authorities will do anything to stop him as such a move could look as though it was against Russia or that they opposed the war.
“Those who disapprove of the initiative fear being condemned as unpatriotic,” one shaman told People of Baikal.
“Those who are against Artur are against Russia. If they start criticising him, they automatically become enemies of the people.”
His planned ritual isn’t the first time Tsybikov has come under fire for slaughtering animals.
In 2019, he sacrificed five camels in a bid to ‘strengthen Russia,’.
Speaking to AFP at the time, Tsybikov said the ritual was part of traditional beliefs and is only held every 300 years.
"We must not disobey the gods," France24 reported.
He told reporters that ‘the animals were killed humanely’ and that he had held it in an attempt to strengthen his country amid political and social turmoil.
"We have pension reforms and people are unhappy, we have (Western) sanctions - a lot of things are happening," he said at the time.
Shaman leader Dopchun-ool Kara-ool Tyulyushevich, hit out at the ritual, telling AFP that it was not a true display of shamanism.
"They killed five camels. That's sadism. A shaman should love people, nature, animals and birds. But they don't love anyone," he said.
But police declined to open a criminal case into the killings, saying that camels were domestic animals and their owners had the right to choose what to do with them.
More recently, fellow shaman Aleftina Sagaan-Ool branded Tsybikov a ‘clown’, and said: “The death of animals will not stop the war.”
Topics: Russia, World News, Vladimir Putin
Claire Reid
