Academic Couple Becomes Shamans in Tyumen

In the past, Gulnara Azaubaeva worked at a university, specializing in veterinary microbiology and virology — she is a Doctor of Agricultural Sciences and a hematologist. Eight years ago, the scientist decided she needed to change her life. Gulnara went to Altai to see shamans. There, she underwent training, initiation, and sewed herself a ritual costume using 8 kilometers (5 miles) of thread. Thus, the scientist became a shamaness.

Now Gulnara lives in the Bogandinsky settlement near Tyumen. Together with her husband — a former driver — they practice shamanic rituals and earn money from it. Our colleagues from 72.RU visited the couple and tell their story.

“The Spirits Told Us About You”

Gulnara and Alexey greet us at the entrance. Both are in bright clothing and smiling. “Welcome!” — the hosts say with expression. It feels like a theatrical tour is about to begin. They escort us into the chum, inside a speaker is playing some popular song, which they turn off.

— Gulnara, can I open the space first? — says Alexey.

— Yes, of course. We«re already working.

Alexey sticks a knife into a wooden board, places butter in the fire, and we begin the conversation.

— The spirits told us about you. They wouldn«t have let you in if you had some burden on your soul. It»s not so easy to get here to us, — Alexey says seriously, looking into our eyes.

“I Am Not a Renowned Scientist in Russia, But a Shaman”

Gulnara herself is from Kazakhstan and dedicated 20 years to science. She worked in the chemistry and examination department at Kurgan University.

— I am a Doctor of Sciences, professor, scientific secretary of the dissertation council. A renowned scientist across Russia, a hematologist. At the time of changing my path, I had written 8 monographs and over 300 scientific papers. I am also a master of psychology, — says Gulnara.

Parallel to her work, Gulnara traveled around Russia by hitchhiking. She has traveled alone like this since age 16. In 2015, she wanted to reach the Ukok Plateau in Altai. Among one of the groups guiding people to these places were shamans.

— I wrote to Tua and asked to take me along, and then a message came: ‘Come, we«re waiting for you,’ — recounts Gulnara.

Then she began to take an interest in shamanism, starting to train with shamans. But she continued her university work. A incident in 2017 forced her to quit. Then the university where Gulnara worked was undergoing accreditation.

— There was no sleep or rest. Huge piles of paper, curricula. And then, when the university passed accreditation, they told us: ‘Now throw it all in the trash, because no one will study by this. It was all done so that we could get the license,’ — the shamaness recounts.

Gulnara calls this period an “existential crisis.” She went back to Ukok and told a shamaness she knew about her work.

— And then my teacher said: ‘Gulnara, think about where your life is going? Into the garbage can? Leave that job,’ — recalls Gulnara. — And when I came home, I went to work. And told myself: ‘Azaubaeva, if you stay here, you«ll have nothing more in life. And you»ll die here.’ I stood up, went to my boss, and said I was resigning.

Gulnara spent 5 years training with shamans, “left social life.” This means Gulnara no longer had official work.

— I was on Ukok for 4 consecutive years. I needed to spend 3 years there to gain power, — says Gulnara. — I sewed ritual clothing. I used 8 kilometers (5 miles) of thread alone. I lived with elder teachers for a month and a half and sewed my ton (a shamanic robe).

It is believed that spirits reside in the ton. It looks like a robe — heavy, dense, with dangling multicolored ropes. Gulnara forbade photographing the clothing because it is sacred. After this, in 2018, she moved to Tyumen.

Gulnara explains that she was “chosen by the spirits and fighting it is useless,” so now she is “not a renowned scientist in Russia, but a shaman.” The shamaness says that if she had known how her life would change, she would have thought twice — whether it was worth starting this path.

— There is a transformation of body and consciousness. Shamanism is a way of life. It is not a religion. We live like this. You can throw paper in a trash bin in front of people. But when no one is around, you might throw paper on the ground. Even when no people see us, our spirits and ancestors watch us. And one must live so as not to be ashamed.

“I Realized I Had Been Walking the Wrong Path All These Years”

Alexey talks openly and emotionally — he says he always loved communicating with people. He worked as a driver for 35 years: on buses, cars, and trucks. During trips, he recalls, he often started dialogues with passengers, and they would ask: ‘Why do you work as a driver?’

Alexey was interested in esotericism: he attended an ethno-festival, traveled to places where Gulnara was with a shamanic group. Gradually, he began to understand he wanted to change his life.

— You know, when a person burns out, feels that this is no longer their path? If a person accepts what is happening to them, then comes the realization of why this information was given. Then transformation occurs, — explains Alexey.

During this period, at a bus station in Zavodoukovsk, Alexey met Gulnara. Before that, he had heard about her from an acquaintance from the festival. He recalls that she was wearing a leather hat, and a wolf was sticking out of her backpack. Gulnara was hitchhiking to Balkhash. That day, she was unlucky because no one agreed to give her a ride. And Alexey offered help. Together, they drove to Kazansky.

Gulnara returned from her journey, and two weeks later, she met Alexey again in Tyumen. Another two days passed, and Gulnara herself wrote to the new acquaintance.

— And then the autumnal equinox. And the spirits tell me: ‘You need to conduct [the ritual] exactly at the point of the autumnal equinox.’ And I say: ‘But I have nowhere to do it.’ And they say: ‘Call Alexey.’ And I write: ‘Alexey, I have just two questions for you. Are you free on Sunday?’ I write on Saturday evening. And the second: ‘Do you have a ritual hearth?’ And he replies: ‘I«m free. It will be done.’ And he made a ritual hearth in one evening. And he made it correctly.

“We Don«t Live for Ourselves”

A year ago, Gulnara and Alexey got married. They say, among other things, spirits suggested they needed to be together. The husband became the shamaness«s first student. In Bogandinsky, they built a chum, moved a pagan shrine — figures of pagan gods — from Taganay. Alexey and Gulnara conducted their first ritual together.

— On the Night of Veles, I rewrote my paths. I completely abandoned social life. I stepped onto my true path, — says Alexey.

Alexey and Gulnara practice Tuvan shamanism. This is an ancient spiritual practice where the shaman acts as an intermediary between the world of people and the world of spirits. They use a drum, costume, and attributes, for example, mirrors and fangs. To the question: ‘How do you communicate with spirits?’ Gulnara answers that she hears them.

People from all over Russia started visiting the couple. They held their first seminar on the topic “50+ — A New Life or the Pharmacy” in May. At the training, both share their experience and apply shamanic practices.

— This seminar was to give people hope. To show that life is beautiful, there are things to do. There are so many paths around — and it doesn«t matter what age you are, — says Gulnara.

The shamans explain that people who have lost themselves come to them. And Alexey and Gulnara«s task is to help them in their search. Now they continue to hold seminars, divinations, and rituals. For example, a cleansing ritual from alcohol spirits costs 20,000 rubles (about $200 at current rates). Training in divination using huvaanak (a traditional Tuvan shamanic divination with stones — Ed.) costs 8,000 rubles (about $80 at current rates).

— We don«t live for ourselves. We don»t have a helicopter pad. And we don«t have a Maybach. So now we are expanding the space. Of course, plans are grandiose. Our plans are already scheduled for a year, — says Alexey.

Previously, we wrote that a participant in the TV show “The New Battle of Psychics” (16+) on TNT became Valentina Lemyagova, a tarot reader from Tyumen. She brilliantly passed the remote selection and came to the site for challenges. One of them was conducted on a frosty day in the suburbs of Moscow: she had to spend 5 hours in the cold without the possibility of going somewhere to warm up.