Grey Zone Healers and the COVID‑19 Pandemicin Chechnya, Russia
W najnowszym wydaniu czasopisma "Journal of Religion and Health" ( April 2024 | Volume 63, Issue 2), poświęconym tematowi "Tribal Healing, Suicide, Ethical Issues, Cancer and Measuring Religiosity and Spirituality" polecamy artykuł autorstwa E.Zakharovej, I.Kołodziejskiej, I.Kaliszewskiej, będący efektem badań prowadzonych w ramach projektu Krajobrazy medyczne w trakcie i po epidemii na Kaukazie Północnym (Czeczenia i Dagestan) (NCN Opus 19, 2020/37/B/HS3/02541).
The Chechen authorities’ focus upon population health is enacted both through theprinciples of Islamic medicine and approved biomedical practices. Any healingpractices beyond these domains are met with deep suspicion. Practitioners of unof-ficial complementary and alternative medicine healers may abruptly find themselvesregarded as enemies of the state. In light of this precarious circumstance, it becomespertinent to inquire: How do these healers employ their daily tactics to negotiatethe intricate power dynamics between the formidable state apparatus and the estab-lished biomedical order? Drawing from our meticulous fieldwork conducted in theyear 2021, we investigated the intricate tactics employed by unofficial healers in theChechen medical landscape during COVID-19. Our research centred on discerningthe nuanced tactics aimed at mitigating potential risks. We conclude that healers,having embodied tactics to creatively manoeuvre within the confines of the authori-tarian state, perceived the challenges posed by COVID-19 as merely another, ofteninconsequential, obstacle in their enduring struggle.