The Return of the Legend: Anatoly Kashpirovsky’s Treatment of COVID-19

Authors

  • Iryna Voloshyna Indiana University - Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/folklorica.v24i.15692

Abstract

The tensions between western scientific and alternative medicine become more palpable during times of uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a period of confusion, evoking mistrust of conventional medicine, which has been unable to fully protect people from this new disease. Gis situation has compelled some to seek help and comfort elsewhere. This article demonstrates how people in post-Soviet countries and post-Soviet diasporic communities resurrected their faith and trust in Anatoly Kashpirovsky, a legendary psychotherapist and charismatic leader who first rose to prominence in the USSR in the 1980-90s. On the basis of digital fieldwork conducted during the lockdown, I showcase how Kashpirovsky once again became popular in 2020 at a moment of global economic, social and political instability. While Kashpirovsky’s audience finds comfort in his professional training and medical experience, his YouTube “health sessions” offer treatments for COVID-19 that relegate him to the realm of folk healer, magician, or psychic.

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Published

2021-07-16

Issue

Vol. 24 (2020): Folklorica

Section

Articles

License

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. Their work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Derivative License (CC BY ND) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. You can find more information about the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Derivative License (CC BY ND) here. 

How to Cite

Voloshyna, Iryna. 2021. “The Return of the Legend: Anatoly Kashpirovsky’s Treatment of COVID-19”. FOLKLORICA - Journal of the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Folklore Association 24 (July): 118-34. https://doi.org/10.17161/folklorica.v24i.15692.