Blavatsky H.P. - Russian Superstitions - Revision history

Pavel Malakhov at 16:11, 6 February 2026

2026-02-06T16:11:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:11, 6 February 2026
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	\| volume = 2		\| volume = 2
	\| pages = 444-446		\| pages = 444-446
	\| publications = The Theosophist. Vol. I, No. 12, September, 1880, pp. 308-309		\| publications = The Theosophist, Vol. I, No. 12, September, 1880, pp. 308-309
	\| scrapbook =		\| scrapbook =
	\| previous = Blavatsky H.P. - Footnote to “Nanga Bâbâ of Gwalior”		\| previous = Blavatsky H.P. - Footnote to “Nanga Bâbâ of Gwalior”
	\| next = Blavatsky H.P. - The Decadence of Protestant Christianity		\| next = Blavatsky H.P. - The Decadence of Protestant Christianity
	\| alternatives = [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/russian-superstitions/ UT]		\| alternatives = [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/russian-superstitions/ UT]
	\| translations =		\| translations = [[:t-ru-lib:Блаватская Е.П. - Русские суеверия\|Russian]]
	}}		}}

Sergey at 01:16, 15 July 2025

2025-07-15T01:16:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:16, 15 July 2025
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	\| previous = Blavatsky H.P. - Footnote to “Nanga Bâbâ of Gwalior”		\| previous = Blavatsky H.P. - Footnote to “Nanga Bâbâ of Gwalior”
	\| next = Blavatsky H.P. - The Decadence of Protestant Christianity		\| next = Blavatsky H.P. - The Decadence of Protestant Christianity
	\| alternatives = ~~[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v2/y1880_054.htm KH];~~ [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/russian-superstitions/ UT]		\| alternatives = [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/russian-superstitions/ UT]
	\| translations =		\| translations =
	}}		}}
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	{{Style P-Title\|RUSSIAN SUPERSTITIONS}}		{{Style P-Title\|RUSSIAN SUPERSTITIONS}}

			{{HPB-CW-comment\|view=center\|[''The Theosophist'', Vol. I, No. 12, September, 1880, pp. 308-309]}}
	{{Vertical space\|}}		{{Vertical space\|}}

	In the article entitled “War in Olympus” (The Theosophist for November, 1879), an allusion was made to a great row then raging in Russia, between the defenders and adversaries of the modern mediumistic phenomena. One of the most rabid assailants of the spiritists has long been Mr. Eugene Markoff<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment\|[Yevgueniy Lvovich Markoff (1835-1903 or 1904) was a well-known writer in Russia. He belonged to an old family of landowners in the Shchigrovskiy uyezd of the Province of Kursk. His mother, Elizabeth Alexeyevna, née von Hahn, a very talented woman, was the daughter of Lt.-Gen. Alexey Gustavovich von Hahn of Suvorov’s Army—H.P.B.’s own paternal grandfather. Y. L. Markoff, together with his sisters and brothers—one of whom, Vladislav, was a novelist—were therefore first cousins of H.P.B.<br>		In the article entitled “War in Olympus” (''The Theosophist'' for November, 1879), an allusion was made to a great row then raging in Russia, between the defenders and adversaries of the modern mediumistic phenomena. One of the most rabid assailants of the spiritists has long been Mr. Eugene Markoff<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment\|[Yevgueniy Lvovich Markoff (1835-1903 or 1904) was a well-known writer in Russia. He belonged to an old family of landowners in the Shchigrovskiy uyezd of the Province of Kursk. His mother, Elizabeth Alexeyevna, ''née'' von Hahn, a very talented woman, was the daughter of Lt.-Gen. Alexey Gustavovich von Hahn of Suvorov’s Army—H.P.B.’s own paternal grandfather. Y. L. Markoff, together with his sisters and brothers—one of whom, Vladislav, was a novelist—were therefore first cousins of H.P.B.<br>

	The writings of Y. L. Markoff include: Barchuki: kartini proshlago (Barchuki: pictures from the past), St. Petersburg, 1875, which are autobiographical memories of childhood; and Uchebniye godi barchuka (Schooldays of Barchuk), in the Journal Nov’, Vol. II, 1885, pp. 228-39. His Collected Writings were published in two volumes in 1877 at St. Petersburg.—Compiler.]}}</ref>, a well-known contemporary Russian {{Page aside\|445}} critic. No one was ever more bitingly sarcastic or combative against what he called the “modern superstition.” The Russian press is now having a laugh at his expense. In an incautious moment, he suffered himself to be betrayed into an admission of some wonderful phenomena that had come under his personal knowledge some years ago. Treating, in the Golos, of the various superstitions of the Russian peasantry, he says that to them the “house-spook” (domovoi) or “house-keeper” (hozyain)—as this familiar spirit is also called—“has as perfect an objective reality, as the living persons about him. In it the peasant puts his trust, and takes it into consideration in every domestic affair.”—Then comes this confession:—

	~~I well remember that in my early manhood there was a learned old man, Stepan Andreyevich~~, ~~celebrated far and wide in all our neighbourhood, and even far beyond its boundaries~~. ~~Before the magical achievements and occult powers of this son of the village deacon~~, ~~before his weird knowledge and prophecies~~, ~~our people literally prostrated themselves. He was not regarded as a practitioner~~ of ~~black art, but as a benevolent magician~~; ~~he was simply credited with the performance of the most astounding miracles. He would see~~ and ~~describe to others events transpiring many miles off: he prophesied the day~~ of ~~his own death~~, ~~and that of various well-known land-owners~~ in ~~our neighbourhood; at a single word from him~~, ~~a whole pack of wild dogs~~, ~~that~~ were ~~tearing after a carriage, fell dead~~ in ~~their tracks:~~ at ~~Orel, he evoked, at her prayer, the shade of a widow’s deceased husband, and discovered where he had hidden some important family papers~~. ~~As for all manner of illnesses~~, ~~it was as though he drove them away with~~ a ~~wave of his hand~~. ~~It was positively said that~~ one ~~lady had paid him 17,000 rubles for curing a case of lunacy; and it~~ was ~~alleged with like positiveness that~~ he ~~had been taken more than once to Moscow and other towns, to cure wealthy invalids~~. ~~Hysterical diseases yielded to~~ a ~~single touch or even glance of~~ his. In ~~our own house~~, he ~~relieved~~ an ~~obsessed woman by simply causing her to drink twelve bottles~~ of some ~~infusion~~ of ~~herbs~~. ~~The obsessed creature would feel beforehand~~ the ~~approach of Stepan Andreyevich; she would be thrown~~ into ~~terrible convulsions and scream loud enough to be heard~~ in ~~the village—‘he comes~~. he comes~~! . . .’~~		The writings of Y. L. Markoff include: ''Barchuki'': ''kartini proshlago'' (Barchuki: pictures from the past), St. Petersburg, 1875, which are autobiographical memories of childhood; and ''Uchebniye godi barchuka'' (Schooldays of Barchuk), in the Journal ''Nov''’, Vol. II, 1885, pp. 228-39. His ''Collected Writings'' were published in two volumes in 1877 at St. Petersburg.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref>, a well-known contemporary Russian {{Page aside\|445}}critic. No one was ever more bitingly sarcastic or combative against what he called the “modern superstition.” The Russian press is now having a laugh at his expense. In an incautious moment, he suffered himself to be betrayed into an admission of some wonderful phenomena that had come under his personal knowledge some years ago. Treating, in the ''Golos'', of the various superstitions of the Russian peasantry, he says that to them the “house-spook” (''domovoi'') or “house-keeper” (''hozyain'')—as this familiar spirit is also called—“has as perfect an objective reality, as the living persons about him. In it the peasant puts his trust, and takes it into consideration in every domestic affair.”—Then comes this confession:—

	~~As if~~ the ~~above were~~ not ~~wonderful enough~~, Mr. ~~Markoff cites an instance which has quite recently come under~~ his own ~~observation~~, and in ~~which~~ he ~~places~~ a ~~faith quite refreshing~~ to ~~behold in so uncompromising~~ an ~~opponent~~ of ~~{{Page aside\|446}} everything smacking~~ of ~~“superstition~~.~~” This is what~~ he ~~tells us:—~~		{{Style P-Quote\|I well remember that in my early manhood there was a learned old man, Stepan Andreyevich, celebrated far and wide in all our neighbourhood, and even far beyond its boundaries. Before the magical achievements and occult powers of this son of the village deacon, before his weird knowledge and prophecies, our people literally prostrated themselves. He was not regarded as a practitioner of black art, but as a benevolent magician; he was simply credited with the performance of the most astounding miracles. He would see and describe to others events transpiring many miles off: he prophesied the day of his own death, and that of various well-known land-owners in our neighbourhood; at a single word from him, a whole pack of wild dogs, that were tearing after a carriage, fell dead in their tracks: at Orel, he evoked, at her prayer, the shade of a widow’s deceased husband, and discovered where he had hidden some important family papers. As for all manner of illnesses, it was as though he drove them away with a wave of his hand. It was positively said that one lady had paid him 17,000 rubles for curing a case of lunacy; and it was alleged with like positiveness that he had been taken more than once to Moscow and other towns, to cure wealthy invalids. Hysterical diseases yielded to a single touch or even glance of his. In our own house, he relieved an obsessed woman by simply causing her to drink twelve bottles of some infusion of herbs. The obsessed creature would feel beforehand the approach of Stepan Andreyevich; she would be thrown into terrible convulsions and scream loud enough to be heard in the village—‘he comes. he comes! . . .’}}

	~~In my cattle-yard, there is a superb young bull~~, ~~purchased by me from a very wealthy breeder~~. ~~This bull had no progeny, strange to say~~, and ~~I, believing it~~ to ~~be the keeper’s fault, rated him soundly for it. The intelligent muzhik would only doff his cap and, without replying. shake his head with~~ an ~~air~~ of ~~total disagreement with my opinion~~.		As if the above were not wonderful enough, Mr. Markoff cites an instance which has quite recently come under his own observation, and in which he places a faith quite refreshing to behold in so uncompromising an opponent of {{Page aside\|446}}everything smacking of “superstition.” This is what he tells us:—

	~~“Eh! Master~~, ~~master!” he once exclaimed~~, with an ~~expression~~ of ~~deep conviction, “Did you not purchase the brute from a wealthy peasant? How then can you ever expect that he should breed?”~~		{{Style P-Quote\|In my cattle-yard, there is a superb young bull, purchased by me from a very wealthy breeder. This bull had no progeny, strange to say, and I, believing it to be the keeper’s fault, rated him soundly for it. The intelligent ''muzhik'' would only doff his cap and, without replying, shake his head with an air of total disagreement with my opinion.

	~~The fact is that a popular superstition in Russia assures that no rich breeder trading in fine cattle~~, ~~will ever sell a beast unless it has been made previously barren by the magic means~~ of the ~~“word” (~~a ~~spell, or mantram).~~		“Eh! Master, master!” he once exclaimed, with an expression of deep conviction, “Did you not purchase the brute ''from a wealthy peasant?'' How then can you ever expect that he should breed?”}}

	And Mr. Markoff, the great opponent of spiritualism, evidently shares in the superstition, since he adds the following profound reflection:—		The fact is that a popular superstition in Russia assures that no rich breeder trading in fine cattle, will ever sell a beast unless it has been made previously barren by the magic means of the “word” (a spell, or mantram). And Mr. Markoff, the great opponent of spiritualism, evidently shares in the superstition, since he adds the following profound reflection:—

	There are sufficiently strong reasons to believe that such exorcisms and spells are not merely limited to a “word” but too evidently in many a case become “a deed.”		{{Style P-Quote\|There are sufficiently strong reasons to believe that such exorcisms and spells are not merely limited to a “word” but too evidently in many a case become “a deed.”}}

	{{Footnotes}}		{{Footnotes}}

Sergey: Created page with "{{HPB-CW-header | item title = Russian Superstitions | item author = Blavatsky H.P. | volume = 2 | pages = 444-446 | publications = The Theosophist. Vol...."

2023-10-08T14:20:55Z

Created page with "{{HPB-CW-header | item title = Russian Superstitions | item author = Blavatsky H.P. | volume = 2 | pages = 444-446 | publications = The Theosophist. Vol...."

New page

{{HPB-CW-header
| item title = Russian Superstitions
| item author = Blavatsky H.P.
| volume = 2
| pages = 444-446
| publications = The Theosophist. Vol. I, No. 12, September, 1880, pp. 308-309
| scrapbook =
| previous = Blavatsky H.P. - Footnote to “Nanga Bâbâ of Gwalior”
| next = Blavatsky H.P. - The Decadence of Protestant Christianity
| alternatives = [http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v2/y1880_054.htm KH]; [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/russian-superstitions/ UT]
| translations =
}}

{{Page aside continues|444}}

{{Style P-Title|RUSSIAN SUPERSTITIONS}}
{{Vertical space|}}

In the article entitled “War in Olympus” (The Theosophist for November, 1879), an allusion was made to a great row then raging in Russia, between the defenders and adversaries of the modern mediumistic phenomena. One of the most rabid assailants of the spiritists has long been Mr. Eugene Markoff<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[Yevgueniy Lvovich Markoff (1835-1903 or 1904) was a well-known writer in Russia. He belonged to an old family of landowners in the Shchigrovskiy uyezd of the Province of Kursk. His mother, Elizabeth Alexeyevna, née von Hahn, a very talented woman, was the daughter of Lt.-Gen. Alexey Gustavovich von Hahn of Suvorov’s Army—H.P.B.’s own paternal grandfather. Y. L. Markoff, together with his sisters and brothers—one of whom, Vladislav, was a novelist—were therefore first cousins of H.P.B.<br>

The writings of Y. L. Markoff include: Barchuki: kartini proshlago (Barchuki: pictures from the past), St. Petersburg, 1875, which are autobiographical memories of childhood; and Uchebniye godi barchuka (Schooldays of Barchuk), in the Journal Nov’, Vol. II, 1885, pp. 228-39. His Collected Writings were published in two volumes in 1877 at St. Petersburg.—Compiler.]}}</ref>, a well-known contemporary Russian {{Page aside|445}} critic. No one was ever more bitingly sarcastic or combative against what he called the “modern superstition.” The Russian press is now having a laugh at his expense. In an incautious moment, he suffered himself to be betrayed into an admission of some wonderful phenomena that had come under his personal knowledge some years ago. Treating, in the Golos, of the various superstitions of the Russian peasantry, he says that to them the “house-spook” (domovoi) or “house-keeper” (hozyain)—as this familiar spirit is also called—“has as perfect an objective reality, as the living persons about him. In it the peasant puts his trust, and takes it into consideration in every domestic affair.”—Then comes this confession:—

I well remember that in my early manhood there was a learned old man, Stepan Andreyevich, celebrated far and wide in all our neighbourhood, and even far beyond its boundaries. Before the magical achievements and occult powers of this son of the village deacon, before his weird knowledge and prophecies, our people literally prostrated themselves. He was not regarded as a practitioner of black art, but as a benevolent magician; he was simply credited with the performance of the most astounding miracles. He would see and describe to others events transpiring many miles off: he prophesied the day of his own death, and that of various well-known land-owners in our neighbourhood; at a single word from him, a whole pack of wild dogs, that were tearing after a carriage, fell dead in their tracks: at Orel, he evoked, at her prayer, the shade of a widow’s deceased husband, and discovered where he had hidden some important family papers. As for all manner of illnesses, it was as though he drove them away with a wave of his hand. It was positively said that one lady had paid him 17,000 rubles for curing a case of lunacy; and it was alleged with like positiveness that he had been taken more than once to Moscow and other towns, to cure wealthy invalids. Hysterical diseases yielded to a single touch or even glance of his. In our own house, he relieved an obsessed woman by simply causing her to drink twelve bottles of some infusion of herbs. The obsessed creature would feel beforehand the approach of Stepan Andreyevich; she would be thrown into terrible convulsions and scream loud enough to be heard in the village—‘he comes. he comes! . . .’

As if the above were not wonderful enough, Mr. Markoff cites an instance which has quite recently come under his own observation, and in which he places a faith quite refreshing to behold in so uncompromising an opponent of {{Page aside|446}} everything smacking of “superstition.” This is what he tells us:—

In my cattle-yard, there is a superb young bull, purchased by me from a very wealthy breeder. This bull had no progeny, strange to say, and I, believing it to be the keeper’s fault, rated him soundly for it. The intelligent muzhik would only doff his cap and, without replying. shake his head with an air of total disagreement with my opinion.

“Eh! Master, master!” he once exclaimed, with an expression of deep conviction, “Did you not purchase the brute from a wealthy peasant? How then can you ever expect that he should breed?”

The fact is that a popular superstition in Russia assures that no rich breeder trading in fine cattle, will ever sell a beast unless it has been made previously barren by the magic means of the “word” (a spell, or mantram).

And Mr. Markoff, the great opponent of spiritualism, evidently shares in the superstition, since he adds the following profound reflection:—

There are sufficiently strong reasons to believe that such exorcisms and spells are not merely limited to a “word” but too evidently in many a case become “a deed.”

{{Footnotes}}