The authors focus on the connections between folk religiosity and the sphere of deception, expressed mainly in the form of a game with the famous demonic character Kikimora. Such connections reveal the transformation of popular ideas in Russia in the 18th – 19th centuries, when the image of a traditionally frightening malevolent influence gradually acquires elements of satire, ridicule and is more actively exploited in various episodes of deception and even fraud. The base of the article, among other things, is the little-known case of the Russian State Historical Archive (RSHA) about the appearance of Kikimora in the village of Sobach'ya dora of the Ustyuzhsky district of the Yezhsky third of the Khaleskaya volost in the house Irina Koneva, the widow of the Ustyuzhsky peasant. The authors reveal the main models and motives of popular deception in the demonic sphere. It is suggested that in popular beliefs, deception could be perceived as a product of evil spirits, was associated with witchcraft or, on the contrary, served as a way to resist malevolent influence. In this regard, the similarity of the actions of a potential group of deceivers with traditional ideas about Domovoy, Kikimora and some other demonological characters is noted. The authors conclude that there was a connection of the causes of the “imitation of the demonic” with general deep ideas about the harmfulness of this malevolent influence itself, supported by the book and Christian image of the evil spirit.

Key words: folk religiosity, Kikimora, demonological narrative, playing with the demonic, poltergeist, deception

DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2023_4_71

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About the author

	Ilya S. Butov – PhD (Agricultural Sciences), Senior Research Fellow at the Republican Laboratory of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the National Research University “Center for Research of Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus”; bldg. 2, 1 Surganova str., Minsk, 220072, Republic of Belarus; illiabutov@gmail.com
	Nikita V. Tomin – PhD (Engineering Sciences), Senior Research Fellow at Melentiev Energy Systems Institute SB RAS; 130 Lermontov Str., Irkutsk, 664033, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.