Volkhvy were heathen priests in pre-Christian Rus’. Volkhvy were believed to possess mystical powers, particularly the ability to predict the future. The first literary reference to a volkhv occurs in the Primary Chronicle

Primary Chronicle

The Primary Chronicle , Ruthenian Primary Chronicle or Russian Primary Chronicle, is a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113.- Three editions :...

 under the year 912

912

Year 912 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.-Africa:* Second rebellion of the Kutama tribesmen against the Fatimid Caliphate in two years.- Europe :...

; there, the priest-soothsayer predicts Prince Oleh's death. With the adoption of Christianity the pagan priests came under persecution and sometimes tried to channel social discontent against the church.

Volkhvy were part of the witch-hunts

Witch-hunts

-Track listing:#"Without Ceremony and Bell Toll" – 5:59#"Inside the Circle of Stones" – 6:38#"The Crow and the Warrior" – 4:21#"Dying to Meet you" – 6:14#"The Preacher Came to Town" – 7:16#"Burn, Witches, Burn" – 5:39#"Witch Hunters" – 5:31...

in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.