Blagovery
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Blagovery (from ) or Russian Zoroastrianism is a branch of
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
practised in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It emerged in the 1990s under the influence of Pavel P. Globa, an astrologist, in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, as an independent movement from usually endogamous
Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
Zoroastrians. In the 2000s, it was joined by another community in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, initiated by the Iranian priest Kamran Jamshidi. The movement has close ties with
Rodnovery The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the Slavic paganism, historica ...
(Slavic Neopaganism).


History

Zoroastrianism emerged as a public entity in Russia in the 1990s, founded by Russians themselves despite the normally endogamic essence of the traditional Zoroastrian communities existing in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The first Zoroastrian organisation, the "
Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...
n School of Astrology" (shortened "
Asha ''Asha'' () or ''arta'' (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right wor ...
", which, in the oldest texts known as ''Arta'', is the Persian word defining the agency of cosmic harmony), was established by Pavel Pavlovich Globa (1953–) in the early 1990s, and opened dozens of branches in and outside of Russia. Globa had been teaching Avestan astrology since the 1970s, and in the 1990s he had become a nationally acknowledged expert on the subject. Globa presents himself as the heir of a lineage of
Zurvanism Zurvanism is a fatalistic religious movement of Zoroastrianism in which the divinity Zurvan is a first principle (primordial creator deity) who engendered equal-but-opposite twins, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Zurvanism is also known as "Zu ...
(the type of Zoroastrianism that regards Zurvan, i.e. "Time" and "Whole", as the supreme God) from north-west Iran, allegedly transmitted through his great-grandmother and his maternal grandfather Ivan N. Gantimurov. Some of Globa's pupils were initiated by him into a priesthood (''khorbad''). In 1994 the "Zoroastrian Community of Saint Petersburg" was established by Globa's followers and officially registered. The organisation publishes the magazine ''Mitra'' and the newsletter ''Tiri''. The Zoroastrianism that they propose is a consciously mimetic appropriation of the religion as it is practised among traditional Zoroastrian communities. This recreation involves significant changes; for instance the cords that are worn by initiates around their waist are not white woollen cords as in the original tradition, but are three-coloured cords—yellow, red and blue—symbolising, according to Globa, the three colours of Zurvan. Since 2001, the priest of Iranian origins Kamran Jamshidi initiated new Avestan astrologers in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
, and Russia became a mission field for them. Tensions arose as Jamshidi's initiates challenged the authority of Globa. Under the influence of these new missionaries, another organisation was founded in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in the year 2005, the "Russian Anjoman" (; ''anjoman'' is a Persian word meaning "assembly"). They use the Russian term "Blagovery" () to define Zoroastrianism.


Relations with Rodnovers and Roerichians

Russian Zoroastrian communities, whether belonging to the Peterburger or Muscovite movements, emphasise that Zoroastrianism has Russian origins, and traces of it have been preserved in Slavic folklore. This parallels the discourse of
Rodnovery The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the Slavic paganism, historica ...
(Slavic Neopaganism), and one of the early Rodnover ideologues, Anatoly Ivanov, defined his views as "Zoroastrian" and "Avestan". In 1981, Ivanov even published the anti-Christian text entitled ''Zarathustra Did Not Speak Thus: The Basics of the Aryan Worldview'', inspired by
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...
's ''
Thus Spoke Zarathustra ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; it was published in four volumes between 1883 and 1885. ...
'', wherein Ivanov says that Zoroastrianism should be adopted as a new paradigm for humanity and discusses the eschatology of the
Saoshyant Saoshyant ( ) is an Avestan-language term that literally means "one who brings benefit", and which is used in several different ways in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition. In particular, the expression is the proper name of ''the'' Saoshyant, an ...
. Zoroastrianism has been described by the scholars Michael Stausberg and Anna Tessmann as a "permanent discussion topic" within the Rodnover community. As it is the case for Rodnovers and Roerichians, the site of
Arkaim Arkaim () is a fortified archaeological site, dated to 2150-1650 BCE, belonging to the Sintashta culture, situated in the steppe of the Southern Urals, north-northwest of the village of Amursky and east-southeast of the village of Alexandrovsk ...
has great importance for Russian Zoroastrians/Blagovers, since it is believed that the "
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
prophet"
Zoroaster Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism ...
was born and lived there. According to these movements, the southern
Ural region Ural () is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It is considered a part of the Eurasian Steppe, extending approximately from the North to the South; from the Arctic Ocean ...
of Russia was a centre of irradiation of all
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
knowledge. The discovery of Arkaim reinvigorated the academic debate about the original homeland of the
Indo-Europeans The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
, seemingly confirming its location in central
Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...
. Arkaim and the broader archaeological region have been presented as the "land of the Aryans", the centre of a statehood of a
monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
type, and ultimately the model for a new spiritual civilisation harmonised with the universe. Agencies related to the
Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
have been critical of such activities revolving around Arkaim's archaeology. Arkaim is officially designated as a "national and spiritual shrine" of Russia. The Russian president
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
visited the site in 2005, meeting in person with the chief archaeologist
Gennady Zdanovich Gennadii Borisovich Zdanovich (; 4 October 1938 – 19 November 2020) was a Russian archaeologist based at the historical site of Arkaim, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Zdanovich led the excavation campaign at Arkaim in the Southern Urals. In the archae ...
. The visit received much attention from Russian media. They presented Arkaim as the "homeland of the majority of contemporary people in Asia, and, partly, Europe". Nationalists called Arkaim the "city of Russian glory" and the "most ancient Slavic-Aryan town". Zdanovich reportedly presented Arkaim to the president as a possible "national idea of Russia", a new idea of civilisation which the scholar Victor Shnirelman calls the "Russian idea". In 2007, during an interview with Iranian state media, Putin himself declared that Zoroastrianism originated in the southern part of the Ural region, and that it is the base of all major world religious systems.


See also

*
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
*
Slavic Native Faith The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the Slavic paganism, historica ...
**
Slavic Native Faith in Russia Slavic Native Faith or Slavic Neopaganism in Russia (variously called Rodnovery, Orthodoxy, Slavianism and Vedism in the country) is widespread, according to some estimates from research organisations which put the number of Russian Rodnovers in ...
*
Proto-Indo-Iranian religion Proto-Indo-Iranian religion was the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples and includes topics such as the mythology, legendry, folk tales, and folk beliefs of early Indo-Iranian culture. Reconstructed concepts include the universal force ''*Hṛ ...
**
Historical Vedic religion The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...
**
Ancient Iranian religion Ancient Iranian religion or Iranian paganism was a set of ancient beliefs and practices of the Iranian peoples before the rise of Zoroastrianism. The religion closest to it was the historical Vedic religion that was practiced during the Outline_ ...


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * {{cite encyclopedia, year=2005 , chapter=Зороастризм , trans-chapter=Zoroastrianism , surname=Styopina , given=A. , editor-surname1=Bourdeaux , editor-given1=Michael , editor-surname2=Filatov , editor-given2=Sergey , title=Современная религиозная жизнь России. Опыт систематического описания , trans-title=Contemporary religious life of Russia. Systematic description of experiences , place=Moscow , publisher=
Keston Institute The Keston Institute (Keston College) is an organisation dedicated to the study of religion and communist countries, previously based in Oxford, England. It is now located at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The Center for Religion, Politics, and ...
; Logos , volume=3 , pages=318–334 , language=ru , isbn=5-98704-044-2


External links


Astrological Institute of Pavel Globa

Zoroastrian Community of Saint Petersburg

Blagovery – Russian Anjoman
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
New religious movements in Russia