Member-only story
Russian Soldiers are Wearing Warhammer 40K-Inspired Talismans in Ukraine
Why do symbols from this tabletop strategy game keep showing up on the Ukrainian battlefield?
Russian soldiers are being equipped with “purity seals” — small, Warhammer 40,000-inspired amulets blessed by Orthodox priests to supposedly shield them from bullets on the Ukrainian front.
Yes, you read that correctly: tiny holy scrolls that seem plucked from a tabletop game about humanity’s distant, dystopian future are now going to war in the name of Russian faith and protection.
Warhammer 40,000, or “Warhammer 40K” as it’s commonly known, has a unique place in both tabletop gaming and pop culture. Launched in 1987 by the UK-based company Games Workshop, the game was originally aimed at a niche audience interested in tabletop wargaming — a mix of strategy, model-building, and storytelling.
But over the years, Warhammer 40K has expanded well beyond its tabletop roots to become a global cultural phenomenon with millions of dedicated players, an entire literary genre, video games, and now even a series on Amazon Prime starring the king of the nerds, Henry Cavill.
In the early 1980s, Games Workshop released Warhammer Fantasy Battle, a Tolkien-esque medieval fantasy…
