RELIGIOUS/RELIGION
Russian Supreme Court Bans ‘International Satanism Movement,’ Labels Group Extremist Amid Broader Crackdown on ‘Non-Traditional’ Ideologies
Russia’s Supreme Court has formally outlawed the so-called “International Satanism movement,” declaring it an extremist organisation and imposing a nationwide ban on all its activities. The ruling followed official applications submitted by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice, marking another significant step in the state’s widening campaign against groups it deems hostile to traditional values.
Following the court’s decision, the Prosecutor General’s Office hailed the outcome as a moral and legal victory, saying that “legal force has triumphed” in the “eternal struggle between good and evil,” according to a report by Russian independent outlet Mediazona last week.
In a strongly worded statement, prosecutors accused alleged followers of the movement of promoting hostility toward established religions and engaging in criminal conduct.
“Followers of this cult, based on hatred and hostility towards traditional religious faiths, publicly call for the destruction of Orthodox shrines. They deny social norms, justify the ideas of neo-Nazism, and commit ritual and other crimes, including those against minors,” a statement from the Prosecutor’s press office said.
The court action comes after sustained pressure from both political and religious authorities. Earlier this year, lawmakers in the State Duma, alongside Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, openly called for a ban on Satanism. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church warned that what he described as “Satanic sects” were operating openly across the country and targeting young people for recruitment.
“It is unacceptable that various Satanic sects forming part of the international Satanist movement are freely conducting their rituals in our country, recruiting young people, and openly registering their groups and communities on social media,” he said in January.
In April, the issue was formally debated at a roundtable discussion in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
“During the session, satanism was discussed alongside Nazism and LGBTQ+ topics, with participants framing them as threats to what they described as the “destruction of its traditional confessions.”
Nikolai Burlyaev, a senior Duma member who organised the roundtable, warned that the erosion of traditional values was a core objective of Satanist movements. He argued that such trends could ultimately undermine the foundations of the Russian state, cautioning that the collapse of moral norms could lead to the collapse of state civilisation.
The rhetoric extended into Russia’s broader geopolitical narrative. Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the State Duma’s defence committee, drew a direct link between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what he described as a fight against Satanism, a phenomenon he compared to “LGBT ideology.”
The ban was issued by Judge Oleg Nefedov, the same Supreme Court judge who, in 2023, ruled to outlaw the “International LGBT Movement.”
Russian outlet Meduza reported that in both instances it was unable to find evidence that formal organisations with those exact names actually exist, raising questions among critics about the legal basis and scope of the bans.
The latest ruling underscores a continuing pattern in Russia’s legal and political system, where courts, lawmakers, and religious leaders increasingly converge around the protection of “traditional values,” using extremism legislation to target loosely defined movements and ideologies viewed as incompatible with the state’s official worldview.