Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Sector of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Assistant to the Administrator of the Moscow Diocese, Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna

THE CULT OF ANASTASIA:

FOREST TEMPTATION

POST-SOVIET

INTELLECTUALS;

ABOUT THE SECT OF "ANASTASIANSCHINA"

For there will be a time when they will not receive sound doctrine;

but according to their own whims they will choose for themselves teachers, who

they would flatter the ears; and they will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn to fables.

(2 Tim. 4:3-4)

Over the past few years, a great variety of different products have appeared on the Russian "market of spirituality". The formula of the founder of Scientology, R. Hubbard, about the benefits of inventing one's own religion continues to be confirmed by many examples. One of them was the movement of Anastasia's admirers, which arose after the publication of a series of books about a forest dweller named Anastasia (their total circulation, according to press estimates, will soon reach three million copies) by a certain Vladimir Puzakov1 who chose the "Western" pseudonym "Megre" with the grace of Gogol's tailor. "The reproaches of false knowledge" (1 Tim. 6:20) quickly spread and found quite a large number of admirers.

The image of Anastasia

From the cover of Puzakov-Megre's books, a permeated young woman looks at us, whose face is covered with a thick layer of makeup. This is in order for the book to sell better. At the same time, in one of the illustrations inside the text, the image of the Madonna is introduced into her portrait. And it is not accidental, since the author tries to convince us that Anastasia is an exceptional representative of the human race, capable of entering into a special, personal relationship with God.

The description of her appearance is a set of vulgar epithets corresponding to the celluloid myth of the forest beauty: "golden hair and a magnificent figure", "sleek skin", "dressed in a light short dress, somewhat similar to a nightgown" (1, p. 28). One of Puzakov's followers will remark: "A beauty from the tribe of Russian Aryans." She speaks with the true grace of Ella the Cannibal: "You read my thoughts. Oh, how fantastic it is!" (1, p. 318).

Anastasia supposedly can communicate directly with the "higher mind" (understand, with God), which appears to her in the form of a luminous ball. It foresees the future, can change it, is able to heal diseases, be transported in space not only by thought, but also, by teleporting, visit different parts of the Earth and even other planets.

The author, on his own behalf and on behalf of the heroine of the book, often discusses the "illogicality" of Anastasia. This is necessary in order to further declare: all the thoughts expressed by the new prophetess, no matter how contradictory, illiterate or even delusional they may be, are a manifestation of "spiritual forgotten laws from the depths of the Universe" (1, p. 332). Listening to Anastasia's outpourings, angels and demons ("light and dark forces" (ibid.)) freeze. Sometimes it is compared to a divinity, sometimes to people before the Fall: "everything that it possesses is inherent in man... in its original form" (1, p. 338).

Where did Anastasia come from? The mythology of the family is as follows. Anastasia comes from a family that has lived separately from the rest of humanity for thousands of years, only occasionally coming into contact with people (1, p. 26). The text repeatedly emphasizes that Anastasia preserves the memory of thousands of years, inherited from distant ancestors. Anastasia's "foremother" (sic. in the text – Author), who lived tens of thousands of years ago, was crippled from birth, and her mother took her to the forest out of grief, where she left her. The unlucky author gives the "foremother" the name Lilith. I vaguely heard something somewhere and decided that it sounded beautiful. Meanwhile, Lilith is the evil spirit of Jewish demonology (derived from the root "lil" – night). The Talmud describes Lilith in particularly horrific detail, ascribed a special interest in infanticide: she drinks the blood of newborns and sucks the marrow from the bones. Since the Renaissance, in connection with the growing interest in Kabbalah, the image has penetrated into European literature in the form of a beautiful seductive woman. These motifs, apparently, were caught somewhere in popular science and occult magazines dear to his heart by the "writer" Puzakov.

The "foremother" creates a family with a certain ancient "poet". This is very "romantic". Over time, she leaves it to lay the foundation for a perfect society. For this purpose, she chooses the most decent leader of the tribe named Egypt and lays the foundation for ancient Egypt (3, p. 159) (oh, the unforgettable ravings of Fomenko!). Later, however, the priests began to envy the ancestor of "Anastasia" (this is how the followers of the new sect call her, lovingly snuggling) and starved him to death. Before his death, he managed to sing a beautiful song for the people (according to the theory of Puzakov's Anastasia, dreams embodied in words and conveyed in singing can transform reality). Anastasia "hears the content of the ancient hymns herself (with historical hearing. — Author), but their authentic translation is impossible" (3, p. 170). And no wonder, Puzakov has not yet decided on stylization in the ancient Egyptian style. True, Anastasia consoles: you can compose new songs. A "bard from Yegoryevsk" is already working on them (3, p. 171).

All of Anastasia's behavior from the very beginning of her communication with Puzakov in the style of a primitive pastoral emphasizes the close connection of the heroine of the novel with nature. It touches and "quickly strokes" the leaves and branches of plants, eats herbs (1, p. 31). It lives in a clearing, does not need warm clothes (it happens in Western Siberia, on the banks of the Ob), does not make any food supplies, eating what it finds or what it gets from squirrels (it turns out that they store more nuts and mushrooms for the winter than they need). Later in the course of the story, it turns out that Anastasia grows cucumbers and tomatoes in the forest, so the image of carelessness fades somewhat. The author concludes that the forest dweller "is an integral part of Nature" (1, p. 36), birds and animals are obedient to her, a bear and a she-wolf serve as her domestic servants.