“Dear Crimeans, something very important — something very, very serious — happened today. I’m talking about a subtle plan. Our land is magical and protected from above; today, the Crimean land has further strengthened the dome under which it lies,” says a woman in an Instagram video, with a completely serious expression. In one week, the video garnered 287,000 views. The author describes herself as a psychologist, astrologer, and tarot reader. The topics of her most popular videos include “What Will Happen to Fuel in Crimea,” “Will Russia Declare General Mobilization,” and “Why Crimea Will Never Return to Ukraine.”

Power outages are driving up demand for candles. Gasoline shortages drive people to buy cans of fuel. And uncertainty about tomorrow drives people to seek predictions. That is why one of the most in-demand professions in Crimea today is that of a fortune-teller. They call themselves numerologists and coffee readers, mediums and clairvoyants, but the essence remains the same. It is precisely to these fortune-tellers that people turn when they want to know when water will flow from the taps and fuel will be available at gas stations, whether food prices will continue to rise, and whether they’ll at least manage to “break even” by the end of the summer season. But the main questions are: when will the war end, and what exactly does that mean for Crimea?

“My wife has already given half of our savings to these fortune-tellers. We closed the store, and there’s no work in the garden either because we have nothing to water it with; the kids are grown up, so she’s suffering, excuse me, over nonsense. I tell her: ‘You’d be better off going for a swim in the sea — at least that’s free.’ And she says to me: ‘What about you — aren’t you curious when this will end?’” laments Pavlo, an entrepreneur from Sudak.

Natalia Pidlisna, psychologist

The ability to think critically and analyze is indeed suffering due to anxiety, confirms psychologist Natalia Pidlisna. As a researcher, she explains this surge in magical thinking as stemming from fear and a hunger for information; as a resident of the Kyiv region, she offers some ironic advice to the “new Crimeans.”

“People have been left to face their problems alone, without the government, without attention from the ‘mainland.’ They’re simply scared. Even educated people now don’t know where to look for information about current developments, let alone hypotheses about the future. Anxiety is growing, and fear is diminishing people’s cognitive abilities. They analyze less. And of course, there will be those who capitalize on this confusion and try to gain attention and power within their communities. These are fortune-tellers, psychics, and various quacks. So stay vigilant — but I’m saying this to Crimeans who have lived in Crimea for a long time. As for the newcomers who arrived during the occupation, they’re simply looking for answers to questions like: Should we leave? Should we sell our new apartment as quickly as possible? And will the Kerch Bridge hold up? To them, as a fortune-teller with a strong scientific background, I advise selling their homes for next to nothing, leaving, and preferably not crossing the bridge. I predict that they’d be better off making their way overland, sticking close to the Mariupol–Rostov highway — or whatever it’s called,” says Natalia. 

It doesn’t occur to these bewildered people to check whether the past predictions of these very same clairvoyants and psychics have come true. Here, for example, is what Mikhail Borodachov, rector of the Russian School of Astrology, predicted for Crimea in early 2025.

“Uranus will begin to leave the Taurus zone and reduce its revolutionary influence on Taurida. For Crimea, 2025 marks the beginning of stabilization and the consolidation of its status. And in 2026, a new surge of energy is expected.”

And the pro-Russian Sevastopol publication “Forpost” published a “Nostradamus prediction” last February, according to which the war between Russia and Ukraine was supposed to end in 2025. 

Such trust in their predictions brings fortune-tellers a considerable amount of money. A consultation with an astrologer in Crimea costs at least 8,000 rubles. Tarot readers are cheaper — they charge starting at 1,000 rubles for their services, but make their money through volume. Vlada, a tarot reader from Simferopol, simply uses social media to predict when electricity will return to Dzhankoy, what will happen next with the “Wildberries” marketplace, and what other attacks Ukraine is planning on the occupied peninsula.

Vlada thanks her clients and lists the amounts she plans to earn and has already received thanks to their trust.

“I set a goal to earn 500,000 in 21 days. I already have 115,410 rubles, and they’re bringing me closer to my dream. I’m so glad that my stories help you stay strong, not get discouraged, and look at the situation with a clear head,” says the tarot reader.