A Russian military outfitter, Ratnik Tactical, is now making and selling purity seals inspired directly by Warhammer 40,000. The seals feature text from the biblical Psalm 90, and have apparently been “consecrated in the Main Temple of the Armed Forces of Russia, the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ”.
Ratnik is selling the seals individually, but says “for those who buy body armor and helmets, the seal of purity comes as a gift”. It adds that “thousands of seals have already gone to the front”. We have no doubt that soldiers have purchased some, even if only as personal ornamentation. Few people customise their gear like soldiers do, and the Warhammer 40k universe and wargame are perennially popular amongst soldiers and in Russia.
Ratnik Tactical is a manufacturer and distributor of body armor and military accessories. It reported that it was making the seals on Telegram on September 15, and according to a Telegram post from October 24 it is selling versions with Russian text for $10 (1000 rubles), or $12 (1200 rubles) for a version written using Church Slavonic.
We can’t verify Ratnik’s claims about the numbers it has distributed. It is possible that it has supply contracts with military units that would see the seals distributed en masse; the Russian military is extremely compartmentalised with multiple supply pipelines.
Purity seals have been part of the iconography of Warhammer 40,000 for decades. They’re pieces of parchment inscribed with Imperial dogma that are attached to armor or weapons via a wax seal. In 40k art contribute to the baroque and gothic aesthetic, one of the signals that the far future is dominated by religion, superstition, and ritual, and not reason or science.
Their in-universe origins can be traced to the Horus Heresy civil war. In the first Horus Heresy book, Horus Rising, we learn about “oaths of moment”, specific pledges that Space Marines make on the eve of battle, which are written out and then affixed to their power armor in a similar manner to purity seals.
Towards the end of the Heresy, as told in the three-volume story The End and the Death, reality itself begins to break down and Chaos manifestations appear within the ruins of the Imperial Palace on Terra. Imperial refugees affix purity seals to themselves to demonstrate that they are not tainted by Chaos.
The in-universe explanation and the artistic intent behind purity seals – and all of the many symbols and artistic devices used for the various Warhammer 40k factions – may be one thing, but a strong visual image can always be put to other uses in the real world.
The high church aesthetics of the Imperium of Man are a good fit with the influential Russian Orthodox church, which is heavily bound up with national identity. Although totemic charms are rather more pagan than Christian, the purity seal represents a union of church, state, and military, which reflect the political role of the current Russian church.
As argued in this piece for the Reuters institute at Oxford University, the Orthodox church is a major proponent of the war in Ukraine. Alongside Putin’s attempts to create a larger political Russia, the Church wants to create a unified moral Russia, aligned with its interpretation of Christian values and against Western liberalism.
Giving front-line soldiers a totem of the Church’s sanction signifies a religious sanction for the war, and marks the soldiers as crusaders.
We can’t speak to the diversity of experiences among Russian soldiers, and whether any have the depth of religious conviction or superstition required to believe the purity seals might actually ward them from harm.
They may be received as good luck charms by some units, and as a waste of money by others, probably in direct relation to how well stocked the soldiers are with essential supplies and how dangerous their current position is. A divine blessing has more value when your feet are dry.
Wargamer has reported on Warhammer 40k and the Russian invasion of Ukraine before: first, a Ukrainian electrician who created excellent papercraft 40k tanks to keep occupied during blackouts caused by Russian airstrikes on power infrastructure; and the captain of a Ukrainian volunteer drone-hunting regiment who plays Blood Bowl with his evacuated son via video call.
All photographs are taken from Ratnik Tactical’s original Telegram posts.
Source: Wargamer
