Is
the end of the world really nigh? Authorities reassure Russians over
Mayan Armageddon prophecy amid reports of 'unusual behaviour'
Some
parts of Russia, which is often said to have a penchant for mystical
thinking, appear to have been spooked by the Mayan predictions
3
December, 2012
As
the 21st of December nears, Russian authorities are attempting to
quell fears that the world will come to end amid panic over what some
experts claim are the predictions of the Mayan Calendar.
According
to the New York Times, there have been scattered reports of unusual
behaviour from across Russia, reportedly prompted by predictions of
Armageddon.
The
reports include "collective mass psychosis" in a women's
prison on the Chinese border, panic buying of matches, kerosene,
sugar and candles, and the building, out of ice, of a Mayan-style
archway in Chelyabinsk in the south.
According
to some experts, ancient Mayans predicted that the 21st of December
would signal the end of a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in
the Mayan calendar.
Some
parts of Russia, which is often said to have a penchant for mystical
thinking, appear to have been spooked by the prediction.
As
a consequence the Russian government's minister for emergency
situations has sought to calm panic over the prophecy, saying he had
access to "methods of monitoring what is occurring on the planet
Earth," and that he could say with confidence that the world was
not going to end in December.
He
did, however, make clear that Russians are still vulnerable to
"blizzards, ice storms, tornadoes, floods, trouble with
transportation and food supply, breakdowns in heat, electricity and
water supply."
Russia’s
chief sanitary doctor has also issued similar attempts to calm
panicky members of the public, one official has also reportedly
suggested prosecuting Russians who spread rumour of the prophecy.
Russia
may be the most extreme example of prophecy panic so far, but other
countries are also experiencing problems.
In
Ukraine the Orthodox Church has issued (a not quite reassuring)
message that 'doomsday is sure to come', but advised it would be
brought about by moral decline and not the: “so-called parade of
planets or the end of the Mayan calendar.”
In
France, authorities are taking steps to prevent access to Bugarach
mountain, which is thought by some esoterics to be a sacred place
that will protect them from the end of the world. Reports claim
websites in the US have been selling tickets to
access the mountain
Just ONE example of many videos on this theme in Russian
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