‘Putin’s Favorite Witch’ Suddenly Faces Prison Time for Her Pro-War Magic

A reality TV star and self-proclaimed witch who gained fame by supposedly using magic spells to boost Vladimir Putin’s ratings has been arrested by Russia’s security services.

Alyona Polyn, real name Yelena Sulikova, faces up to seven years behind bars on charges of extremism and offending the feelings of religious believers—a law created in 2013 as an apparent response to Pussy Riot’s famous “punk prayer” in a Moscow cathedral.

Polyn, 44, is a former star of the kooky Battle of the Psychics reality show and the leader of a group called the Empire of the Strongest Witches, which held a widely mocked 2019 “Witches’ Congress” at which a large group of black-cloaked women cast spells to funnel power and strength to the Russian president. She seems to have also been closely involved in supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine: An entire section of the group’s website features certificates and letters addressed to Polyn thanking her for providing “humanitarian support” to Russian troops. She was also praised for providing both Russian troops and their families with “psychological support.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.