"Apocalypse in World History:
The Mayan Calendar and the Fate of Russia" by Igor Shumeiko, summary

This book is a satirical and analytical study of human fears of the end of the world, written in 2011. The text methodically dissects the eschatological myths of ancient Zoroastrians, Mayans, and other peoples, firmly linking them to mass psychology and political manipulation. The presented work demonstrates the primacy of human fear, which is successfully used to control society. True cataclysms always have a social and organizational nature.

This work is part of the "Secret History of Humanity" book series. It also includes related works, such as "The 3,000-Year-Old Riddle: The Secret History of Jewry" by Igor Shafarevich and "The Origin of Man: An Alien Trace" by Viktor Yanovich.

Calendar Fears and Ancient Numerology

The book begins with an analysis of the global panic surrounding December 21, 2012. The ancient Mayans created a precise calendar based on the numbers 13 and 20. Modern civilization perceived the end of a vast time cycle and the hypothetical arrival of the deity of destruction, Bolon Octe, as an inevitable end. Eschatology is present in all world religions. Zoroastrians assigned the universe a 12,000-year lifespan. Hindus used billions of years of Brahma’s day. The Scandinavian Elder Edda described Ragnarok with a global, perennial winter.

Precise dates for global annihilation were most often assigned by astrologers and numerologists. Pythagoras is considered the father of numerology. The ancient Greek thinker sincerely believed that numbers were the hidden secret of the universe. From Pythagorean secret societies arose the tradition of searching for hidden meanings in ordinary dates. Today, scientists are also adapting to the demands of a frightened public. Consumers crave news about stray asteroids, the mysterious planet Nibiru behind the Sun, or the cessation of the Gulf Stream. Serious researchers are forced to coexist in the press with astrologers like Pavel Globa or even Paul the Octopus, who predicts the results of football matches.

True science versus political speculation

In stark contrast to the tabloid sensations, interviews with real academics are featured. The eminent geophysicist Georgy Golitsyn calmly explains real climate processes. He exposes the political machinations surrounding the Kyoto Protocol and the global warming theories of politician Al Gore. The scientist demonstrates the results of measurements taken by the mobile laboratory-train "TROIKA." A completely different origin of the threat has been revealed. Accusations of Russia’s massive greenhouse methane emissions are completely unfounded. The flammable gas is produced abundantly by Siberian swamps naturally. The aging pipes of Russia’s gas pipelines have proven to be unrelated.

Month of Disasters and Earth Keys

Particular attention is paid to August. Statistics persistently highlight late summer as the most terrifying time of year. A long list of tragedies is recounted: the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii, the explosion of Krakatoa, the sinking of the Kursk submarine, the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, the destruction of the Ostankino Tower. In addition to the rational reasons for a decrease in vigilance during the holiday season, the psychological cyclical nature of time perception is mentioned. August brings with it an ancient turning point in the year and accumulated fatigue. Oceanologist Leopold Lobkovsky complements the overall picture of real threats with his "keyboard theory." His calculations demonstrate the fragmentation of the edges of lithospheric plates into individual blocks. Accumulating stress over decades, rocky formations shoot out like giant piano keys, causing earthquakes and massive tsunamis.

Well-lived-in Russian apocalypses

Russian history is replete with its own deeply felt upheavals. In 1492, a frightened people awaited the end of the universe. According to the Byzantine calendar, 7,000 years had passed since the creation of the world. The church’s Easter celebrations had ended. Peasants abandoned their fields in anticipation of the Last Judgment. Tsar Ivan III responded to the public panic by building the mighty fortress of Ivangorod. Eschatological motifs are also clearly evident in the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Contemporaries perceived his mass oprichnina terror as biblical punishments. The tsar built the Oprichny Court on Arbat Street in the image of the Heavenly Jerusalem from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. The monarch sought mystical salvation behind a stone wall without a western gate.

The most widespread internal upheaval occurred after 1666. The Old Believers perceived the reforms of Patriarch Nikon and the subsequent decrees of Emperor Peter the Great as the clear coming of the Antichrist. For millions of fugitives, the end of the world had already arrived. Hiding in Siberian and Pomor monasteries, the Old Believers turned to hard, grueling labor. Success in worldly affairs became their only sign of salvation. It was these people, persecuted by the authorities, who became the founders of the powerful industrial dynasties of the Morozovs, Ryabushinskys, and Guchkovs. Entrepreneur Vasily Kokorev founded the Volga-Kama Bank, extracted Baku oil, and developed railways. This Old Believer vividly demonstrated the creative path in times of spiritual catastrophe.

The Napoleonic Wars and the Irrationality of Victory

The Patriotic War of 1812 became yet another battle for the Russian people against the forces of absolute evil. The French Emperor was openly called the Antichrist. The Russian intelligentsia calculated the Number of the Beast in the aggressor’s name. The long-standing historical myth of devastating frosts is debunked. The winter cold supposedly destroyed the Grand Army without a fight. The author recalls the turning point in the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. The battle took place in dry, sunny October. Winter had not yet set in. The reasons for the French defeat lie in the irrational, self-sacrificing behavior of the Russian people. The surrender and burning of Moscow deprived Napoleon of his familiar European patterns of warfare. The fiery glow of the Moscow fire allowed the Russian army to secretly execute the Tarutino flanking maneuver, ensuring the salvation of its troops.

The differences between the pragmatic West and Russia had been developing for centuries. The schism in Christianity in 1054 laid a solid foundation for mutual misunderstanding. Different approaches to spiritual values and the Golden Horde period that Rus’ had lived through created a nation of colossal resilience. This mentality led to the rapid development of the Eurasian expanses of Siberia.

Illusions of Fear in the Cold War

The era of diplomatic confrontation between the USSR and the United States is described as a gigantic equation with unknown variables. The nuclear arms race was fueled by calculations of imaginary losses. Scientists and generals of both superpowers refused to press the button, vividly imagining the scale of destruction. The hidden mechanics of military fear are revealed in an interesting way. During World War II, Italian pilots dropped dummy mines made of pressed salt into the Suez Canal. The salt pellets dissolved without a trace. British sailors spent long days combing the seabed, completely halting shipping. The phantom threat was far more effective than real explosives. Similarly, the CIA and KGB frightened their governments for decades with exaggerated spy reports.

Defeat in the consumption race

The fall of the Soviet Union can be explained by a complete failure in the civilian sphere. Military parity had been successfully achieved. The West cunningly imposed a merciless consumption race on the USSR. Soviet industry confidently fed and clothed citizens, but catastrophically lagged in regularly changing styles. Fashion became a severe economic burden. The conflict over skinny trousers reached the level of First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev. The shortage of quality jeans became the main marker of social backwardness. The popularity of Western English-language music undermined the faith of Soviet youth in socialism. Jamming enemy radio stations proved three times more expensive than broadcasting them, which severely impacted the state budget.

The ideological vacuum was rapidly filling with public discontent. The authorities fought against the unearned income of city residents, stubbornly refusing to grant them land for dacha construction. It was only the State Emergency Committee that promised the population the famous 15 hundred square meters of land in August 1991. It was already too late to save the disintegrating country.

The end of an era and commerce on prophecies

The text concludes with the writer’s personal recollections of the days of the August putsch at the White House. Soviet youth took to the capital’s barricades to preserve their traditional way of life and free consumption. The illusions of stability quickly dissolved in the harsh realities of the wild commercial enterprise of the 1990s.

A long chronological list of failed apocalypses is provided. Cultists, astrologers, and alien contactees constantly frighten the public with impending disasters. American preacher Harold Camping and other charlatans regularly postpone the dates of the Earth’s global destruction, citing errors in calculations. This entire powerful industry of artificial fear is generously funded by gullible ordinary people and supported by long-term advertising contracts in the press. The presence of advertising banners next to frightening articles proves only one thing: cold-blooded businessmen are firmly convinced of the coming of tomorrow.