Russia licenses faith healers

Many laugh at such ideas and might call him a quack. But the 63-year-old healer, who practices out of an office in a Moscow suburb, holds a license from the Russian government.

For the past two years, the Federal Health Service has been issuing licenses to practitioners of what it calls "traditional medicine," meaning anything from the use of herbal treatments to the manipulation of "auras." His claims buttressed by officialdom, Fadkin charges patients 3,500 rubles ($150) per session.

And he says business is very good.

"Every day I learn something new," the smiling Muscovite says, gesturing to what he says is an invisible aura surrounding him--"because all the information I need is out there, in the vast energy field surrounding us."

So far, 130 healers, including Fadkin, have passed the service's voluntary testing program, which promoters in the government say can determine whether someone has the inherent ability to cure. The program is limited to Moscow, but a Russian lawmaker is pushing to extend it nationwide and make it mandatory.

Skeptics scoff at the notion that such testing is meaningful and criticize the government for lending credibility to people who claim paranormal powers.

"I think that this entire system is a result of ignorance and corruption," says Eduard Kruglyakov, a laser physicist, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "Science has certain rules that must be followed, and this system of certification hasn't passed any serious scientific tests."

He deplores the whole notion of legitimizing folk healing through licensing.

"This kind of healing has nothing to do with science or medicine," he said.