Russians Buy Aspen Stakes And Ask Fortune-tellers The Date Of Putin's Death

• 28.01.2026, 13:30

Voodoo dolls are also being bought up in the RF.

Russians continue to buy up esoteric goods for rituals and fortune-telling. In 2025, the demand for such products increased by 50% year-on-year, according to a study by IT company ATOL. For comparison: in 2024 the growth amounted to 34%. The most popular were amulets, the share of sales of which in the sample reached 36%. Demand for them increased 2.2 times last year. On average, Russians spent 498 rubles on one amulet - 33% less than in 2024, writes The Moscow Times.

The interest of citizens in aspen stakes also rose sharply - the number of purchases jumped 4 times (that is, by 300%), and the average check amounted to 333 rubles. In addition, the record-breakers were glass balls, demand for which increased by 101%, and voodoo dolls (+63%). Runes were also in demand. Demand for them increased by 54%, the average set cost 672 rubles. At the same time, Tarot cards sagged by 5%, the average price for a deck amounted to 654 rubles. Demand for biolocation pendulums increased by 34%, for black candles - by 8%.

The interest of Russians in esotericism soared after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. This was evidenced not only by an increase in sales of "magical" goods, but also by a rise in demand for courses in numerology, tarot, meditation and other similar practices. Russians are trying to find out the fate of relatives at the front, and are also asking to predict the dates of Putin's death and the end of the war.

The interest in esotericism is linked to high levels of stress and a desire to reduce uncertainty, said Infoline-analytics general director Mikhail Burmistrov. People seek support in a variety of spiritual and secular practices in times of crisis, "it helps them regain a sense of control over the situation, make sense of changes and adapt to them," explained Maria Danina, co-founder of the online school Psychodemia.