Lawmakers Press for Ban on Occult Ads
(April 2008, The Moscow News, by Anna Arutunyan)
«Return your love and happiness without sin or harm in one day for the rest of your life! 100 percent guarantee!» The woman offering these services is shown in a black headscarf, with the ubiquitous candle at her side. Though unnamed, she is one of 200,000 occult practioners, and a permanent presence on the advertisement page in the Komsomolskay Pravda daily. In fact, similar announcements under the heading of «Astrology, Magic, Psychic readings» fill at least one page of many Russian dailies, and are frequently featured on national television during prime time.
Now, fearing for the «health of the nation,» lawmakers are trying to curb the amount of occult advertising in the media. A new bill slated for its first hearing in May hopes to ban advertising for healers, witches and anyone offering occult services without proper registration.
«People are going to these healers who don't have a license, who don't have any right to practice,» Petr Polonitsky, an aide to Duma deputy Vladimir Medinsky, one of the lawmakers behind the initiative, told The Moscow News «We warn people that this is fraud, but they still go».
Indeed, occult services remain remarkably popular in Russia. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was reportedly treated by a traditional healer despite a national ideology of staunch atheism. Today, 42 percent of Russians believe in astrology, 38 percent believe in reincarnation, according to a 2006 poll by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research. Some 50,000 healers alone practice nationwide, while about 150,000 people have paid for their services.
According to estimates by the Gazeta online daily, the market is worth some $30
million to 40 million a year, with $5 million worth of ad revenue in the first half of 2007. If the law comes into force, newspapers would be fined for placing such ads, and could have their registration revoked after several warnings.
Polonitsky concedes that lack of trust in mainstream medicine is one problem. «What's there to hide,» he asks. «Our medical establishment doesn't always show its best. A person gets disappointed, goes to a healer.» The danger, however, is real. «There are situations when a person's life could have been saved with surgery, with medicine. Instead he goes to a sham healer and it's too late.»
But that's not to say that healers in general are frauds. The bill, in fact, differentiates between healers and occult practitioners, and proposes amendments to the federal law 'On Advertisement.' One amendment would ban advertising «occult and mystical services» altogether, while another would ban advertisement of healers who lack the «lawful permission» to practice.
Obtaining lawful permission is the tricky part. According to the Russian Association of Folk Healers, a 4,000 strong organization that has been working in tandem with health authorities to practice, but local health officials won't give permission – there are just 400 «licensed» traditional healers to date.
Another lawful option became available in 2006, a source in the association told The Moscow News. Traditional healers who value their reputation can obtain a certificate with the Federal Health and Social Development Control Service. According to the source, who said he supports the new bill, the certificate would allow healers to advertise in case the ban came into force.
The Association in fact calls for more regulation in this sphere to protect people from fraudulent claims. While healers now have an option to get some sort of certification, there's no law that regulates or certifies psychics, astrologers, or occult practitioners.
Hence, newspaper advertisement pages are peppered with «100 percent guarantee» for services that can hardly be measured.