Peterburgian Vedism "to know" ("vedat")—a semantic root which is shared in Slavic and Sanskrit languages alike—, and it expresses the difference between sight or knowledge and dogmatic belief ("verit"), the latter being typical of non-Vedic doctrines. According to one of the contemporary leaders of the Peterburgian Vedic movement, Roman Perin, "Rodnovery" defines the practised religion, while "Vedism" defines the philosophy or knowledge at its core. Vedism therefore is not a religion but pure knowledge. According to Bezverkhy, dogmatic religions such as Christianity, but also Brahmanism (the successor of Vedism in India), were created in order to control the masses. Bezverkhy codified his
Peterburgian Vedism Leningrad State University and in military academies. In 1986 he founded the "Society of the Mages" (Общество Волхвов, "Obshchestvo Volkhvov"; or Союза Волхвов, "Soyuza Volkhvov") and in 1990 the "Union of the Veneds", the earliest Vedic organisations. His promotion of nationalism and conservatism led Bezverkhy to have troubles with Soviet authorities on various occasions, and he received an official warning from the KGB. In the early 1990s he was prosecuted for inciting hatred towards Jews, but he was found not guilty. Among other organisations that employ the term "Vedism" there are the "Krasnodar Slavic Orthodox Community—Vedic Culture of Russian Aryans",