You're reading: Tempting fate: Lawmakers take aim at fortunetellers

When the authors of bill number 8371 wanted a vote on the final draft in parliament earlier this year, they faced unusual opposition.

“Some people threatened me with health problems like impotence if I proceeded with the law,” said Yevhen Tsarkov, a Communist lawmaker who instigated the bill.

Tsarkov and other authors of the law say they received such threats after penning a law that bans advertising by magicians, fortunetellers, witches and others who claim to have supernatural powers.

“The threatening emails and text messages were constant. One of my fellow lawmakers who was earlier involved in the draft law withdrew as she couldn’t stand the pressure,” said Pavlo Unguryan, a member of parliament from the opposition Fatherland party, who co-authored the bill.

Nevertheless, the bill passed, was signed by the president and went into force earlier in March.

People also do not record the conversation with the magician, do not write down the numbers of the banknotes they pay with, so when they turn to police, even if we find the alleged swindler, we have no proof of wrongdoing – Volodymyr Polishchuk, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Advertisements for fortune tellers and supernatural healers have filled Ukraine’s airwaves, newspapers and advertising circulars for years, promising happiness, health and protection from evil.

One recent advert in a circular offers “treatment” using electric shocks.

Another pitch promises to heal a bad back with a hammer.

Others, in a mixture of religion and the supernatural, offer cures from “evil curses” and “charms to excite love” alongside photographs of the bible and icons.

Tamara, who advertises in the circular Kyiv In Your Palm, offers to solve problems for Hr 100.

“First people come for a visit, and I use playing cards to see what their problem is. Then I tell them what can be done to address it – magic, special prayers, other means,” she said.

But lawmakers say these fortunetellers, witches and supernatural healers are just taking advantage of vulnerable people.

“We received hundreds of complaints from parents and relatives of teenagers and pensioners who watched these daytime fortune-telling shows on TV and were calling there, and then receiving phone bills for up to tens of thousands of hryvnia,” Tsarkov said. “Most of them did not know that they pay for the time they are on hold as well.”

Official estimates by police and lawmakers say there are from 25,000 to 60,000 people make a living practicing fortunetelling, astrology, magic and traditional medicine.

According to Health Ministry data, only 425 of them are licensed as practitioners of traditional medicine.

Fortunetellers, astrologers and palm readers were included in the national classification of professions since 2007, as many are registered as private entrepreneurs, despite working illegally without licenses proving their “special ability.”

“Almost all witches are registered with the State Tax Administration as private entrepreneurs. They pay taxes and will receive a pension from the state, despite the fact that almost all of them work illegally and fool people,” Tsarkov said.

Sociologists blame the popularity of services offered by tricksters on widespread superstitions and political and economical instability in Ukraine.

“The demand for this kind of services grows when the situation in the country becomes more unstable and unpredictable, like it used to be in the 1990s and during the 2008 economic downturn,” said Yevhen Holovakha, deputy head of the Sociology Institute in Kyiv.

Kyiv In Your Palm circular continues to advertise the services of fortunetellers despite the legal ban. (Courtesy)

“Ukrainians are quite superstitious and traditionally many are inclined to believe that they have little, if any, control over their lives, so they seek guidance elsewhere,” he added.

Apart from fooling people, police say, these witches-cum-entrepreneurs do not issue receipts and do not sign contracts with their clients. This makes proving the case of swindling in court virtually impossible.

“People also do not record the conversation with the magician, do not write down the numbers of the banknotes they pay with, so when they turn to police, even if we find the alleged swindler, we have no proof of wrongdoing,” said Volodymyr Polishchuk, an Interior Ministry spokesman. He said these swindlers operate in an unregulated environment and that simply banning advertisements won’t be enough.

According to police, 372 people were charged with fines for fortunetelling in public places in 2011.

“Most of them are usually let go with the warning or pay up to Hr 50 fine. A criminal case is usually opened when the damage is around Hr 1,000,” said Mykola Roshchin, a retired police officer who until recently was a spokesman for the Interior Ministry’s Department of Criminal Investigation.

Roshchin recalled a recent case in Kyiv when a woman turned to a witch for a leukemia cure for her son.

“She paid her $6,000 but her son was getting worse and the witch demanded more money. When the woman turned to us, a criminal case was opened and the witch returned the money. However, she was never prosecuted due to lack of evidence,” Roshchin said.

Another swindler took the $40,000 life savings of a woman in Uzhhorod in western Ukraine, promising to “multiply the money,” according to Hanna Valyuk, a spokeswoman for Uzhhorod police. A criminal case was opened, but the magician was never found.

Few pay a much higher price after turning to traditional medicine practitioners with serious illnesses like cancer. A woman in Kyiv recently died of cancer after refusing hospital treatment and instead turning to an illegal traditional medicine “guru.”

Lawmakers voted unanimously for the law, but some said it would not solve the problem.

“You cannot ban these people from providing their services, as the freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution. Also, it is always people’s own choice to trust somebody or not.

However, somebody benefits from this business being unregulated and shadow, as it brings big money, part of which undoubtedly going to local police for protection,” said Vasyl Miroshnychenko, a lawyer specializing in administrative law.

While the law bans adverts in print and on television, the Internet remains unregulated.

A quick search reveals dozens of sites advertizing the services of people with “special talents.”

“Since the ban was implemented we have not noticed increase in clients. Obviously, a different audience uses the Internet in Ukraine – these people are more educated and will not fall for a witch.

However, many of them are interested in astrology, numerology and suchlike and turn to our experts who have been studying these subjects for years,” said Vitaliy, a site administrator at www.prognostics.budarazh.com, which offers the services of astrologists and numerologists.

He refused to give his surname.

Vitaliy said his firm gains an average of three new clients every day, who pay Hr 200-Hr 600 for a session in a rented single-room apartment in downtown Kyiv.

And the law itself appears to be having little impact, at least in print, with many adverts still carried in circulars. Fortunetellers and supernatural healers cite freedom of entrepreneurship, as their professions are on the state register of professions.

“We will have to eliminate magic, astrology and fortunetelling from the national classification of professions to make it work,” said lawmaker Tsarkov, adding that his team is working on this.

Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at
[email protected].