Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism

Part of a series on
Slavic Native Faith
Theory Theology and cosmology Rod Belobog-Chernobog Prav-Yav-Nav Triglav Svetovid Clusters of deities Identity and political philosophy Slavic Native Faith and Christianity
Denominations Core denominations Authentism Bazhovism Ivanovism Kandybaism Levashovism Peterburgian Vedism Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism Slavic-Hill Rodnovery Sylenkoism Vseyasvetnaya Gramota Ynglism Not strictly related Assianism Blagovery Dead Water
Institutions Calendars and holidays Volkhv priesthood Religious organisations Foundation for Traditional Religions Native Polish Church Praskozorje Rodnover Confederation (Rodzima Wiara) Siberian Veche Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities
Spread in Poland in Russia in Ukraine
Sources Proto-Indo-European religion Historical Slavic religion Ancient Iranian religion Zoroastrianism Historical Vedic religion Hinduism Siberian shamanism Tengrism God-Building Roerichism
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Anastasianism (Russian: Анастасианство, Анастасийство, Анастасиизм) or the Ringing Cedars (Звенящие Кедры; also "Jingling Cedars"^[1]) falls into the category of (right-wing) esotericism^[2] and considers itself to be a new religious movement,^[3] often classified as New Age,^[4] that started in central Russia in 1997 and has since spread across the world.^[5] Ringing Cedars' Anastasians are sometimes categorised by scholars as part of Rodnovery (Slavic Neopaganism),^[6] and often as a modern Pagan movement of their own.^[7] The Anastasians also define their life conception as Russian Vedism (Русский Ведизм) and themselves as Vedrussians (ведруссы), and Anastasianism has therefore often been classified among the various self-styled "Vedic" religions arising in post-Soviet Russia.^[8] It conveys partly conspiracy ideological, racist and anti-Semitic content. The movement is closely linked to right-wing extremists and antisemitic conspiracy theorists in some countries: German constitutional protection authorities classify the movement as a right-wing extremist suspect; the State Security Service in Austria also observes it.^[9][10]

The movement is based on the series of ten books entitled The Ringing Cedars of Russia written by Vladimir Megre.^[5] The knowledge contained in the books is attributed to a beautiful woman named Anastasia, the embodied form of a deity,^[11] who dwells in the Siberian taiga, whom Megre met during one of his trade expeditions.^[12] The books have been translated in twenty languages and have sold millions of copies.^[13] They offer a holistic worldview, teaching about humanity's relationship with nature, God and the universe, the creation of the world, the power of thought in modelling reality and the future, a cyclical eschatology, the relationship between men and women, and education.^[5] Family, tradition and environmentalism are core values for the Anastasians.^[14]

Anastasianism proposes a whole new model of social organisation, that of the "kinship homesteads", many of which constitute larger "kinship settlements".^[15] The Anastasian movement has become one of the most successful new religious movements in Russia,^[16] and from there it has then spread to other Slavic countries, broader Eastern Europe, and communities have also been established in the West.^[17] In Russia, Anastasians have faced the hostility of the Russian Orthodox Church.^[18]