INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's top shaman has given his blessing to the Kremlin's military offensive in Ukraine, praising troops and denouncing Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelensky as an "enemy," state media reported Thursday.Shamanism, a religious practice that involves connecting with the
spirit world, is prevalent across the indigenous peoples of Siberia and resurged in popularity after being heavily repressed during the
offensive in Ukraine."I call for happiness, health and prosperity for the Russian people," said Kara-ool Dopchun-ool, head of a shaman group
in ceremonial attire, rhythmically banging a drum and chanting."This is for those guys who are now fighting, performing the special military
operation in the Donbas," he told RIA before starting the ritual."If the Ukrainian people realize that Zelensky is already an enemy of the
Ukrainian people, if there is a choice next year, depose him, if a new person comes, everything will stop," he said.The post of a supreme
"elected shaman" is a recent innovation that has drawn criticism from some believers, who have called it an unnecessary bureaucratic
role.Kara-ool Dopchun-ool was elected to the post in 2018 following the first all-Russian congress of shamans in the republic of Tuva in
southern Siberia."We always ask the Sun, the stars, the Moon to protect them," he was quoted as saying by RIA."And the Sun will go there and
Moscow's offensive in Ukraine has effectively been outlawed in Russia, where religious officials including Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill
