The Aniva lighthouse, was built on a highly inaccessible island in the Sakhalin chain in the Sea of Japan. Once nuclear powered, it is now abandoned but still attracts some extreme thrill seekers. Some who depart for it, however, are said to never return.

Russian MiniLessons: Haunted Places in Russia

Published: October 4, 2020

The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal its English translation.

According to Russian folk beliefs, ะฝะตั‡ะธัั‚ะฐั ัะธะปะฐ (sometimes referred to with the shortened โ€œะฝะตั‡ะธัั‚ัŒโ€) prefer to settle in evil places or places viewed as conducive to evil.

These can be categorized in several broad categories (not all of which are listed here). One consists of uncivilized places or places not conducive to civilization. These include: ะดะธะบะธะต ะผะตัั‚ะฐ, ั‚ั€ัƒั‰ะพะฑั‹, ั‚ั€ััะธะฝะฐ, and ะฝะตะฟั€ะพั…ะพะดะธะผั‹ะต ะฑะพะปะพั‚ะฐ. Another category deals with the concept of ะฟั€ะตะดะตะปย โ€“ where one area crosses to the next. These include ั€ะฐะทะฒะธะปะบะธ ะดะพั€ะพะณ, ะผะพัั‚ั‹, ะพะบะพะปะธั†ั‹ ะดะตั€ะตะฒะตะฝัŒ, ะบั€ะฐั ะฟะพะปะตะน, ะฟะตั‰ะตั€ั‹, ัะผั‹, and ะบะพะปะพะดั†ั‹.

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Crossroads are traditionally considered places of evil across Europe because, in ancient times and into the middle ages, people who died while traveling were traditionally buried at the next crossroad. As the places became associated with death, tales of ะฝะตัƒะฟะพะบะพะตะฝะฝั‹ะต ะดัƒัˆะธ, ะบะพั‚ะพั€ั‹ะต ัะบะธั‚ะฐัŽั‚ัั ัƒ ั€ะฐะทะฒะธะปะพะบ ะดะพั€ะพะณ ย and of ัƒะฑะธะนั†ั‹, ะบะพั‚ะพั€ั‹ะต ะฟั€ัั‡ัƒั‚ัั ะฒ ะทะฐัะฐะดะฐั… ัƒ ั€ะฐะทะฒะธะปะพะบ ะดะพั€ะพะณย became common.

Places that are considered ะพะฟะฐัะฝั‹ะนย are also places that might be haunted. These include ะฟั€ัƒะดั‹ and especially ะฒะพะดะพะฒะพั€ะพั‚ั‹, which are often associated with ัƒั‚ะพะฟะปะตะฝะธะต. Places known for their ั€ะธัะบ ะฟะพะถะฐั€ะฐย such as ะผะตัั‚ะฐ ะทะฐ ะฟะตั‡ัŒัŽ ะธ ะฟะพะด ะฝะตะนย and the ะฑะฐะฝัย are often settings for grizzly tales of evil spirits burning people alive or even flaying off their skin. ะฅะปะตะฒะฐ, where people are at ั€ะธัะบ ะพะฑั€ัƒัˆะตะฝะธั, are also sometimes inhabited by evil spirits.

Places associated with ัะบะปะฐะดย make up another category. This includes ะตะผะบะพัั‚ะธ ั ะฒะพะดะพะน, ะตะผะบะพัั‚ะธ ั ะผัƒะบะพะน, ะฟะพะณั€ะตะฑะฐ, and ั‡ะตั€ะดะฐะบะธ. Russians once commonly made the sign of the cross before opening flour jars, for instance, and those that didnโ€™t were sometimes tormented by devils.

There are also certain trees associated with evil, such as ะฒะตั€ะฑะฐ, ะพั€ะตัˆะฝะธะบ, and ะณั€ัƒัˆะฐ. The beliefs about these trees originate from the particular features of each tree. For example, spoilt hazel nuts turn black inside their shell, as though burnt. Folklore explained this with stories of the trees saving people from lightening or fiery devils by catching the evil forces inside its nutshells. Ancient Slavs would sometimes make circles of hazel wood branches around themselves for protection. Some Russians still consider the hazel nut tree to be a ั‚ะฐะปะธัะผะฐะฝ.

Sometimes, the same tree can symbolize both good and evil spirits. For example, a young pussy-willow symbolizes growth, health, fertility and protects from natural calamities, evil spits and disease. At the same time, an old pussy-willow is considered a home or hiding place for ั‡ะตั€ั‚ะธ.

It is not recommended to ัะฟะฐั‚ัŒ ะฟะพะด โ€œะฝะตั…ะพั€ะพัˆะธะผโ€ ะดะตั€ะตะฒะพะผย or to ะปะพะผะฐั‚ัŒ ะตะณะพ ะฒะตั‚ะฒะธ. This allows evil spirits to ะทะฐะฒะปะฐะดะตั‚ัŒ ะฒะฐัˆะตะน ะดัƒัˆะพะน.

One difference between haunted houses in Russian culture and western culture is that sometimes, in Russian culture, houses are haunted not because of a ะทะปะพะฒะตั‰ะตะต ัƒะฑะธะนัั‚ะฒะพย or other ัƒะถะฐัะฝะพะต ัะพะฑั‹ั‚ะธะตย connected with it, but because all homes naturally have spirits in them called the โ€œะดะพะผะพะฒะพะนโ€. Cats can see the ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะน, though humans usually canโ€™t. Some Russians believe that when a cat plays, it is playing with the ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะน.

While generally positive or neutral spirits, ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะน can become evil if not treated well. When moving to a new house, the ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะน should also be invited. If not invited, the home becomes haunted by the slighted ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะน, who can be extremely dangerous. Anyone attempting to reside in an ะทะฐะฑั€ะพัˆะตะฝะฝั‹ะน ะดะพะผ, risks ัะผะตั€ั‚ัŒ, ั€ะฐะฝะตะฝะธะต, or ะฑะตะทัƒะผะธะตย at the hands of the ัะฟั€ะพะฒะพั†ะธั€ะพะฒะฐะฝะฝะพะณะพ ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะณะพ. An abandoned home may be abandoned for good reason! Sometimes a home to which people move will already have a ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะน, and the ะดะพะผะพะฒะพะนย that the new residents invited from their old home will fight with this second spirit, causing ั…ะฐะพัย in the home until one is driven from the house or defeated.

Some places are ะฟะพัะตั‰ะฐะตั‚ััย by ะดัƒั…ะธ ัƒะผะตั€ัˆะธั…. The Moscow Kremlin is among one of them โ€“ where the ghosts of old Russian czars like Alexander II and Ivan the Terrible have been seen. An official working late one night in 1994 in the room under Leninโ€™s former office ะพะฑะตัะฟะพะบะพะธะปะธย by ะทะฒัƒะบะธ ัˆะฐะณะพะฒ ะฝะฐะด ะฝะธะผ. Sure that this was Leninโ€™s ghost, the official stopped staying late at the office for fear of disturbing the spirit.

St Petersburg has many ghosts โ€“ Peter the Great has been reported haunting the Winter Palace and the murdered Tsar Paul I haunts Mikhailovsky Castle. The ghost of Sofiya Perovskaya, a Russian revolutionary who is best remembered for her role in assassinating Tsar Alexander II and being the first woman ะบะฐะทะฝะตะฝะฝะฐัย in Russia for political crimes, is often seen on the bridge crossing Ekaterininsky Channel, the purple imprint of the noose still around her neck and the lantern she used to signal her terrorists still in her hand.

The village of Kukoboi is perhaps the place with the greatest concentration of haunted places in Russia. This village, in the Yaroslavsky Oblast (some 200 miles from Moscow), is considered the home of ะ‘ะฐะฑะฐ-ะฏะณะฐ, an old witch immortalized in Russian fairy tales who, among other things, ะฟะพั…ะธั‰ะฐะตั‚ย and sometimes eats children. Kukoboi has several haunted houses, spots, and even a haunted library.

Former World War II battlefields are also known as ะผะตัั‚ะฐ ัะบะพะฟะปะตะฝะธั ะดัƒั…ะพะฒ.ย Here, many people were killed and often not buried properly, leaving their ghosts to remain on earth. One can reportedly see ัะพะปะดะฐั‚ั‹-ะฟั€ะธะทั€ะฐะบะธ, ะธะดัƒั‰ะธะต ะฒ ะฑะพะนย and shouting โ€œะฃั€ะฐ!โ€ย while attacking enemies. There are such places in many Russian regions with the most notorious being Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), where more than 3 million people died defending the city, and Myasnoi Bor in the Novgorod region where tens of thousands of soldiers died in the swamps and are, to this day, unburied.

About the author

Andrei Nesterov

Andrei Nesterov

Andrei Nesterov leads SRAS' Research Services, performing remote archive research and consultations for researchers around the globe. Andrei graduated from Ural State University (journalism) and Irkutsk State Linguistic University (English). He also studied public policy and journalism at Duke University on a Muskie Fellowship and taught Russian at West Virginia University. As a journalist, he has reported in both Russian and English language outlets and has years of archival research experience. He has travelled Russia extensively and penned many stories on the โ€œreal Russiaโ€ which lies beyond the capital and major cities. Andrei also contributes news, feature stories, and language resources to the SRAS Family of Sites.

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Josh Wilson

Josh Wilson

Josh lived in Moscow from 2003, when he first arrived to study Russian with SRAS, until 2022. He holds an M.A. in Theatre and a B.A. in History from Idaho State University, where his masters thesis was written on the political economy of Soviet-era censorship organs affecting the stage. At SRAS, Josh assists in program development and leads our Internship Programs. He is also the editor-in-chief for the SRAS newsletter, the SRAS Family of Sites, and Vestnik. He has previously served as Communications Director to Bellerage Alinga and has served as a consultant or translator to several businesses and organizations with interests in Russia.

Program attended: SRAS Staff Member

View all posts by: Josh Wilson