‘Satanism’: Russian lawmaker calls for Halloween ban

Celebrating the holiday should be outlawed as it undermines traditional values, according to Mikhail Ivanov

Halloween should be banned in Russia, according to a lawmaker in Bryansk Region who associates it with Satanism, which is illegal in the country.

Speaking to news outlet Gazeta.ru, Mikhail Ivanov, who is also the head of the organization ‘Orthodox Russia’, described Halloween as a Western holiday that is alien to Russian culture and its spiritual foundations, claiming it is being forcefully imposed on society.

He argued that the symbolism associated with Halloween is linked with evil spirits and darkness and has a “destructive influence” on the fragile psyche of the younger generation.

According to Ivanov, the celebration undermines Russia’s traditional values, promotes occultism, and contradicts “the fundamental moral values on which our country has been built for centuries.”

Ivanov has called for equating the promotion of Halloween with the propagation of Satanism, stating that his organization’s mission is to create “legal barriers to the aggressive promotion of alien ideologies disguised as harmless entertainment.” The lawmaker urged Russians to focus instead on their own national holidays, heroes, and history instead of “borrowed substitutes.”

Halloween traces its origins to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest and the belief that spirits could cross into the world of the living.

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The Western Christian Church, particularly Roman Catholics, later adopted the date as All Hallows’ Eve, the vigil preceding All Saints’ Day. The celebration eventually evolved into today’s Halloween, known for costumes, lanterns, and trick-or-treating.

Ivanov’s proposal comes as Russian religious leaders have been warning of occult practices spreading across the country.

Earlier this year, Russian Orthodox Church archpriest Andrey Tkachev described the phenomenon as a serious moral threat to the nation, stating that “the Russian land is full of sorcerers” and that “this abomination requires purification.”

The newspaper MK had previously reported that spending on esoteric services such as fortune-telling and spiritual healing reached 2.4 trillion rubles ($24 billion) in Russia in 2024.