Shamanism, sanity and remoteness in Russia
Anthropology Today April 1, 2020 Kristina Jonutytė
Online and local reactions to a Yakut shaman's 2019 protest march to Moscow reveal a deep rift between distant supporters and local observers, rooted in Russia's historical relationship with its own orient. The shaman, Alexandr Gabyshev, aimed to drive President Putin out of the Kremlin. Discourses of support function as a form of 'removal' within the nation state, according to the authors, who draw on Saxer and Andersson's concept. The disjunction, though taking new forms, is grounded in a long history of Russia's complicated relationship with its eastern territories.