Superstitious Russians Believe August Is Cursed, Putin Should Take Notice: The cruelest month of the year is April, according to the poet T.S. Eliot, but many Russians consider the month of August cursed.
Could this coming month prove to be Vladimir Putin’s bleakest month? Much of that hinges on an old Russian superstition known as the “August curse,” coupled with mounting domestic pressure from the ongoing meatgrinder in Ukraine, economic strains, and historical precedents of national crises occurring during the month of August.
Putin New Year’s Message. Image Credit: Russian Government.
Putin Back on 2_2026 State Media Photo
Known as Black or Cursed August, the eighth month of the year has traditionally brought turmoil to Russia, and Putin should pay close attention to what is unfolding in Russia, as Ukraine continues to hammer Moscow’s oil and gas industries, as well its logistics and economic base with drone swarm attacks.
Historically, August Hasn’t Been Kind To Russia
The month of August, for most Russians, has traditionally felt like 31 straight days of Friday the 13ths. Some of the more tragic Russian incidents occurring during August include:
In late August 1918, Vladimir Lenin was nearly assassinated when he was shot and seriously wounded after speaking to workers at the Michelson Arms Factory in Petrograd.
In August 1928, Soviet peasants were forced by Stalin into collective farms and to have their livestock confiscated. This theft was described with the euphemism “socialization.” Famine soon followed.
Ten years later, in August 1938, during the Great Purges of the Soviet Army, Stalin appointed a new head of the NKVD secret police, the murderer and sadist Lavrenti Beria.
Russians can all recall the 1991 Soviet coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev, the 1998 financial default, and the 2000 sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine during Putin’s first year in power.
Russia and Georgia fought a brief, five-day war over South Ossetia in 2008.
Subsequent Augusts brought major floods, deadly wildfires, plane crashes, and industrial accidents like the 2009 Sayano-Shushenskaya power station explosion.
Two years ago, Ukraine turned the tables on Moscow and invaded Russia with the counteroffensive into the Kursk Oblast.
“This month is nicknamed ’Black August’ for a good reason,” said Tatiana Loskova, a lawyer in Moscow, in 2012. “We’ve come to expect anything at this time of year, from terrorist attacks to political crisis.”
What Will August Bring For Putin in 2026?
Russian propagandists have long touted Putin as the sole guarantor of national security, but ongoing drone strikes targeting Russian oil facilities and logistics infrastructure challenge that narrative.
The war of attrition continues to drive inflation, higher taxes, and localized discontent, straining the baseline stability of the regime, as the Russian economy is in much worse shape than the government admits to, especially the banking industry, which is suffering from failing loans.
Corporate doubtful loans reached roughly 10 percent, and retail non-performing loans at major lenders hit as high as 15 percent. More than 500,000 Russian citizens declared personal bankruptcy, and more than 13 million people hold three or more active loans simultaneously.
Amid mounting military and domestic discontent, some nationalist factions within Russia have increasingly leaned into reviving the legacy of Joseph Stalin as a tool for extreme political consolidation.
With a very unpopular mobilization plan that the Kremlin is laying the groundwork for, government planners are debating tightening domestic restrictions—such as potential VPN limits, asset controls, and exit constraints—to suppress prospective public unrest if a formal call-up is ordered.
Putin Is Working In Uncharted Territory
Putin has always enjoyed a press controlled by him; the narrative he releases is always framed as if everything is fine. He made it a crime to call the fighting in Ukraine “a war.” But his approval rating, even in a controlled press environment, is beginning to slip.
He and his generals framed the narrative that everything is rosy, and that “reports” always state that Russian troops are advancing on key objectives.
And yet the Russians haven’t achieved one of their primary objectives at the outset of the “special military operation.” Not one. The military has suffered appalling casualties and is losing more people than they are recruiting.
And major Russian cities, such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg now are being attacked regularly, and with increasing success by Ukrainian drone and missile strikes. The safety and security of the nation is now an illusion.
Russia has been forced to stop exports of gas and oil and is now importing oil from Morocco, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.
Despite daily Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, the will to resist the Russian invasion remains unbroken in Ukraine. And the war is becoming increasingly more costly at home.
This August may once again be another “cursed” month in Russian history.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
