Russian lawmakers spare witches

Several MPs had moved in April to ban the commercial promotion of alchemists, astrologers, and other occult services

A Russian parliamentary committee has rejected proposed legislation aiming to ban all advertising of various “esoteric” services and block their websites, the newspaper Vedomosti reported on Friday, citing a government review of the bill.

The legislation was introduced by three Russian lawmakers in April. One of the MPs, Nina Ostanina, had previously “declared war” on the purveyors of such services, whom she branded as “charlatans.”

The proposed legislation sought to amend existing advertising law so as to ban the commercial promotion of various “esoteric” practices of alleged “witches,” “alchemists,” “mediums,” and other such services. The bill also sought to block internet resources that advertise them.

The committee rejected the draft proposal on grounds that the legal wording and definitions were insufficiently clear, which could lead to misinterpretations and misuse, according to a State Duma committee review published by Vedomosti.

Additionally, the bill does not legally distinguish between fraudulent services and those allowed by Russian law, it said.

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The provision of such services is already regulated by Russian consumer rights legislation, and the changes demanded by the bill to advertising laws “contain redundant and unclear terminology,” the review said.

While the committee noted the “problematic nature of this social phenomenon,” it stressed that adopting the bill in its current form could create the risk of “unjustified restrictions” on freedom and of unprecedented government overreach.

Ostanina stated that she and her fellow lawmakers would continue to work on the bill. The legislation will be discussed with the Russian State Duma committees on economic and information policies, she told Vedomosti on Friday.

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Most Russians have used esoteric services at least once in their lifetime, according to a poll from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) last year.

According to the polling company’s director, Valery Fyodorov, the widespread availability of technology has led to a gradual degradation in intelligence, thus leading more Russians to turn to occult services.

With so many available tools, “primarily the internet and now artificial intelligence, that in the end we have all become very stupid,” he said in an interview with the Russian online newspaper Gazeta.ru published last week.