Imposture in Russia in the Past and in the Present: Socio-cultural and Historico-psychological Aspects
The article deals with socio-cultural and socio-psychological aspects of the phenomenon of imposture in the history of Russia, as well as in the contemporary times. ‘Imposture’ is essentially a state when someone falsely represents oneself as another person in order to get an opportunity to bask in reflected glory, and to benefit materially, socially and personally. Our typology of imposture includes the following four types: 1) worldly (tsarist), 2) religious, 3) impersonation and 4) ‘the masked man’. The psychological mechanisms of imposture, causes and methods of false self-identification are also disclosed. Worldly (Tsarist) imposture should be viewed as a form of social protest in 17th-18th century Russia. We discuss historical impostors, such as Lzhedmitry I (False Dmitry, Grigory Otrepyev) and Peter III (Yemelyan Pugachev), acting as savior Tsars, through the prism of historical psychology. We also look at how the masses assessed these rulers from the standpoints of ‘justice’, ‘piety’ and ‘lawfulness’. Religious impostors belong not only to the past (16th-17th centuries) - this type is still quite common in our age. Unlike the Tsarist impostors, they proliferate and control others by confidence tricks. An example can be found in destructive cults of both foreign and Russian origin, such as Aum Shinrikyo founded by Shoko Asahara, and the cult of Andrei Popov (“God Kuzya”). A novel contemporary feature is the rise of impersonation impostors, who act under the name of a celebrity. Their actions are both prohibited by the Criminal Code and seen as morally reproachable. Another contemporary phenomenon is ‘the masked man’ - a witness in a criminal case who qualifies for the state protection program, allowing them to change their names and even appearance. Living in a disguise is a serious psychological trauma for every such person. Among individual psychological preconditions for most forms of impostures are a proclivity to fantasizing and trust in self-created illusions, a capacity for self-hypnosis, and a nervous system of the strong type.