Halloween Becomes Another Target of the Kremlin’s Culture Wars NYT | Top Stories Valerie Hopkins 4 November 2025 at 04:03 The Russian authorities canceled a festival in St. Petersburg, branding it “Satanist,” as part of a larger assault on anything viewed as a Western influence. © Andrei Bok/SOPA Images, via Getty ImagesPolice officers speaking to a man in costume at the Nekro Comic Con festival dedicated to Halloween in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday.