Shaman's march to Moscow: Claims of exorcising Putin unravel

A few years ago, Aleksandr Gabyshev became widely known. Calling himself a shaman, the Siberian resident was unafraid to criticize Vladimir Putin. This criticism took quite a surprising form. In 2018, he began his march to the Kremlin, where he wanted to perform exorcisms on Vladimir Putin. After covering 3,000 kilometres, his march was halted by the authorities.

This did not dampen the shaman's enthusiasm. He made further attempts to march on Moscow in 2020 and 2021. The Kremlin authorities reacted to his actions in quite a surprising way. Although few took the declarations of the self-proclaimed shaman seriously, Vladimir Putin seemed to treat them with surprising seriousness; something even pointed out by Alexei Navalny.

The last march on Moscow by Gabyshev ended with the man being placed in a secure psychiatric ward in one of Russia's hospitals, where he is reportedly still held to this day. This followed accusations that he attacked a police officer. His story resurfaces in the media from time to time, most recently due to the documentary film "The Shaman's Tale", directed by Beata Bubenets.

The documentary indicates that the Siberia shaman predicted the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. "People, new times have arrived. Everything will change. This year, the worldview of all the people on Earth will shift," the newspaper recalls his words. The documentary's director emphasized that the pandemic completely changed our reality and perception. Therefore, Beata Bubenets considered his words prophetic.

And what did the shaman from Siberia say about Putin himself? Gabyshev argued that where "Putin is, there are always catastrophes, terror, and wars." He added that Putin is a demon and "is not from Earth."