Celebrating the holiday should be outlawed as it undermines traditional values, according to Mikhail Ivanov<\/p>\n
Halloween should be banned in Russia, according to a lawmaker in Bryansk Region who associates it with Satanism, which is illegal in the country.
\nSpeaking to news outlet Gazeta.ru, Mikhail Ivanov, who is also the head of the organization \u2018Orthodox Russia\u2019, described Halloween as a Western holiday that is alien to Russian culture and its spiritual foundations, claiming it is being forcefully imposed on society.
\nHe argued that the symbolism associated with Halloween is linked with evil spirits and darkness and has a \u201cdestructive influence\u201d on the fragile psyche of the younger generation.
\nAccording to Ivanov, the celebration undermines Russia\u2019s traditional values, promotes occultism, and contradicts \u201cthe fundamental moral values on which our country has been built for centuries.\u201d
\nIvanov has called for equating the promotion of Halloween with the propagation of Satanism, stating that his organization\u2019s mission is to create \u201clegal barriers to the aggressive promotion of alien ideologies disguised as harmless entertainment.\u201d The lawmaker urged Russians to focus instead on their own national holidays, heroes, and history instead of \u201cborrowed substitutes.\u201d
\nHalloween traces its origins to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest and the belief that spirits could cross into the world of the living.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Russian MPs propose renaming Halloween<\/p>\n
The Western Christian Church, particularly Roman Catholics, later adopted the date as All Hallows\u2019 Eve, the vigil preceding All Saints\u2019 Day. The celebration eventually evolved into today\u2019s Halloween, known for costumes, lanterns, and trick-or-treating.
\nIvanov\u2019s proposal comes as Russian religious leaders have been warning of occult practices spreading across the country.
\nEarlier this year, Russian Orthodox Church archpriest Andrey Tkachev described the phenomenon as a serious moral threat to the nation, stating that \u201cthe Russian land is full of sorcerers\u201d and that \u201cthis abomination requires purification.\u201d
\nThe newspaper MK had previously reported that spending on esoteric services such as fortune-telling and spiritual healing reached 2.4 trillion rubles ($24 billion) in Russia in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Celebrating the holiday should be outlawed as it undermines traditional values, according to Mikhail Ivanov Halloween should be banned in Russia, according to a lawmaker in Bryansk Region who associates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t