A Russian ‘Supreme Shaman’ is planning to slaughter 60 camels in a ritual to help Vladimir Putin defeat Ukraine.
Artur Tsybikov, 53, wants to sacrifice five animals every month to enlist the support of ancient Slavic gods for the Kremlin’s bloody war.
The mystic, who wears military camouflage and a black beret, claims his supernatural intervention will bring Putin the victory his army has failed to secure in almost five years.
‘We want to send 60 camels to the Slavic gods to ask for their forgiveness, help and support,’ he said.
The shaman is hoping to start the sacrifices this month in the town of Angarsk, near Irkutsk.
‘All the ancestral gods will come. We will feed them, sit with them, talk to them and ask for forgiveness,’ he said.
The aim is that ‘everything comes to an end sooner, with our victory in the war.’
The 58 innocent animals would be sacrificed ‘on behalf of all the peoples of Russia,’ he added.
Russian animal rights campaigners have condemned him for cruelty, while fellow shamans say his slaughter is a grotesque distortion of their ancient religion, with camels considered sacred in some regions of Siberia.
But some are scared to publicly criticise a shaman seen as ultra-loyal to Putin.
When Tsybikov sacrificed five camels in 2019 to ‘strengthen Russia,’ police refused to prosecute him for animal cruelty.
The animals were killed, dismembered, and their remains burned on a ritual bonfire. Today critics fear that they will be seen as against Russia or opposed to Putin’s war, which could see them jailed or fined.
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‘If you’re against Artur, you’re against Russia,’ a shaman from Buryatia said, adding: ‘If you start criticising him, you automatically become an enemy of the people.’
Tsybikov is known for backing Putin at elections.
He even claimed jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny had been ‘eliminated by higher powers’ because he was ‘rocking the boat’.
He proclaimed himself Russia’s Supreme Shaman in August, but many other shamans reject his authority.
Tuvan shaman Aleftina Sagaan-Ool dismissed him as a ‘clown’, insisting camel sacrifice had no place in traditional shamanic practices.
‘The death of animals will not stop the war,’ she said.
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