Numerology, astrology, tarot: pseudoscientists are predicting the outcome of Kremlin’s war in Ukraine
“Putin is dragging his feet with the war, why does he need that?” a woman asks, her fingers covered in chunky rings as she tosses cards over a zodiac-printed tablecloth. She pulls three out of the deck: a man sitting on a throne, a cup with an eye and a blue globe. “He wants to create a catastrophe, some sort of collapse. He wants to see danger in the world” — the video continues.
It’s one of dozens of “prognoses'' on Valentina Koltsova’s YouTube channel. Her 60,000 followers watched her predict the future president of Kazakhstan, describe the character of Belarusian President Lukashenko’s son and give details about Putin’s mysterious illness.
Valentina, who never shows her face in the videos, is a tarot reader. Tarot readers, numerologists, astrologists — in Russia, Ukraine and beyond have been making headlines with their forecasts about the future of the conflict, often contradicting each other. Their videos and posts are getting millions of views. They are being interviewed by prominent outlets and TV channels, giving their pseudoscientific claims wide exposure.
A Ukrainian numerologist Vladislav Gritsay predicted that Putin’s life might end in August, concluding that this month will be critical for Ukraine’s victory. When I type his name into YouTube, dozens of videos pop up. Almost every week, a TV channel or a popular blogger invites Gritsay to comment on the fate of Crimea, Putin’s demise and Ukraine’s victory.