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Russian Esoteric Movement Expands Into the West Under Putin Loyalist in Poland
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A Russian sect known as the Anastasians is promoting anti-democratic and patriarchal ideologies while quietly establishing colonies across Poland.
Investigations into the movement’s Polish branch reveal it was organized by a supporter of Russian leader Vladimir Putin who purchased land for these complexes for over 2.3 million PLN (approximately €535,000), according to Vsquare on February 5.
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Despite the group’s growth, local authorities appear unconcerned with the movement or its leader, who has since moved to Russia.
The Anastasian worldview combines esotericism, conspiracy theories, and ecology with elements of racism and antisemitism. While the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is actively investigating the movement, the situation in Poland remains different.
The movement traces back to the mid-1980s and a man named Vladimir Megre, formerly Vladimir Luzhakov or Puzhakov. Originally a small-scale businessman in Novosibirsk, Megre claims his life changed in 1994 during a trading trip along the Ob River in Siberia. He writes that he met a mysterious woman named Anastasia in the remote taiga who shared a philosophy regarding humanity, nature, and spirituality.
Following this encounter, Megre published The Ringing Cedars of Russia in 1996. The book presents Anastasia’s teachings as a beacon for the modern world. The series has sold 11 million copies globally and has been translated into 20 languages. This literary success launched a broader “ecological” movement that has received public interest from Vladimir Putin.
Central to this belief system is the Siberian cedar, which followers consider a sacred plant with healing powers. The movement encourages followers to build a “space of love” on one hectare of land.
In Poland, the movement began to take shape around 2015, led by Piotr Kulikowski. He acquired at least 78 hectares in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, dividing the land into one-hectare plots sold to families.
Kulikowski, who has since relocated to Russia, frequently shares pro-Russian content and interviews with Putin on social media. He also promoted “Family Party” in Poland, modeled after a now-defunct Russian political entity that advocated for “ancestral lands” legislation.
The Polish settlements, such as those in Borne and Nowe Worowo, maintain a low profile. Some residents operate a “School of Happiness” for children based on the methods of Mikhail Shchetinin, a Soviet-era educator whose communal experiments were previously shut down by Soviet authorities.
While the movement presents a peaceful, “New Age” exterior, researchers in Germany and Austria have identified underlying themes of nationalism and xenophobia within Megre’s writings.
German security services have classified the movement as an extremist organization acting against the democratic order. In Poland, the Internal Security Agency (ABW) stated it monitors potential threats to national security but did not confirm specific actions regarding the Anastasians.
Earlier, Konstantin Malofeev, a sanctioned Russian billionaire and staunch Kremlin ally, strengthened his position within Russia’s elite circles, eventually securing a role to teach his hardline ideology at Moscow State University. Known as the “Orthodox Oligarch,” he had already established a reputation for financing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and founding Tsargrad TV to spread pro-monarchist propaganda.
Despite earlier controversies that had barred him from academic and political leadership, his “History of Empire” course was added to the university’s curriculum, where he aimed to frame Russia as the spiritual heir to Rome. By the time he entered the classroom, his neo-nationalist views and ties to far-right movements across Europe had already made him one of the most influential and provocative figures in Russian media and politics.
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