Russia is currently facing an unprecedented fuel crisis that sees drivers in some parts of the country spending hours at gas stations, waiting to refuel at sky-high prices. With Ukraine hitting oil refineries deep into Russia, the situation is unlikely to change anytime soon, so snake oil peddlers are scrambling to take advantage of people’s desperation.
Russian news media recently reported that an increasing number of self-proclaimed magicians, clairvoyants, and witches are taking to social media to promote all kinds of questionable services, like lowering a vehicle’s consumption, to changing standard fuel into premium through occult rituals.
Clairvoyants claim that increased fuel consumption may not be due to a car malfunction, but to a supposed hex, negative energy, or foreign objects that someone may have left in the car. Instead of checking the engine and visiting a car repair shop, customers are encouraged to perform rituals to lower their cars’ fuel consumption, rituals that only these masters of the occult can prepare. Obviously, one is expected to pay a fee of up to 16,000 rubles ($210) for this kind of service.
In one instance, a witch reportedly told the client that a curse had been cast on their car’s fuel tank, causing it to burn through fuel faster than usual. They also offered to spiritually lift the curse for the modest price of 16,000 rubles.
Some esoteric practitioners also claim to be able to alter fuel characteristics—for example, turning AI-92 gasoline into the more expensive AI-100. However, experts warn that the octane number of fuel depends on its chemical composition and cannot be changed by incantations, rituals, or the application of symbols to a car.
Just last week, we reported on the increasingly popular fuel pills that allegedly lower fuel consumption. Their efficacy has also been called into question, even though they are even being sold at gas stations across Russia.
