Who in Russia is secretly a Freemason? Freemasons in the Russian government - masks are not removed Does the Masonic lodge rule the world

Ku Klux Klan

Almost a century and a half ago - on December 24, 1865 - the ultra-right organization Ku Klux Klan appeared in the United States. The secret community united many figures of that time, including very influential ones, and managed to do a lot of terrible things.

The Klan declared the idea of racial superiority of whites over recently freed blacks from slavery. At first, the organization consisted mainly of participants from the event that had ended the day before. Civil War, dissatisfied with its results. At its peak—after its revival in the 1920s—the Ku Klux Klan numbered about 6 million.

The activities of the KKK began with banal intimidation of religious and naive blacks: members of the clan dressed in white clothes with a pointed hood and portrayed ghosts. However, soon it came to murders, including mass murders. Not only blacks fell under the hot hand, but also those who did not suit the Ku Klux Klansmen for various reasons, from political to moral. As a rule, the unwanted person was first sent a special sign by mail - orange or melon grains or oak branches, and if he did not heed the warning and did not leave the city, reprisals soon followed.

During the first stage of the KKK’s existence, its members killed several hundred thousand people, and of these, 130 thousand were killed for political reasons alone. In the end, the federal authorities had to resolve the issue - however, the Ku Klux Klan, dispersed in 1871, was revived half a century later in the 1920s in an equally terrible form. And today, here and there, gangs of followers of the legendary clan constantly appear with absolutely amazing positions: for example, the KKK, revived in the USA, suddenly began to accept... blacks and gays.

We remembered several more secret organizations with murky goals that unite the powers that be.

Bilderberg Club

In fact, the only secret in this organization is the agenda of the issues discussed. It is this fact that gives rise to a lot of conspiracy theories around the annual get-together of the world’s most influential people.

The Bilderberg Club first met in 1954 in the Dutch hotel of the same name near Arnhem. Today, the group's meetings are attended by about 380 people, a third of whom are Americans, the rest are Europeans and Asians. All of them are among the arbiters of the planet's destinies: politicians, businessmen, members of royal families.

It is known that at meetings all these bigwigs discuss the most important world problems. Inside, it is forbidden to record conversations and then communicate with the press, which is why many uninitiated people believe that the Bildberg Club secretly rules the world.

Arabs, Latin Americans and Africans are never invited to the club. Russians are sometimes called: Chubais, Yavlinsky and Shevtsova attended the meetings at different times. As a rule, the composition of participants changes from year to year, but many attend the meetings more than once - like, for example, Chubais.

The true goals of the organization remain vague, and its influence on the fate of the world is still unproven.

Masons

Perhaps the most famous secret society in the world. Many epochal figures were Freemasons, in particular, both founding fathers of the United States, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, as well as Napoleon Bonaparte and other figures from history textbooks.

“Freemasons” never aimed at violent actions to change the world order, always remaining an educational organization from the moment of its founding. Masons are free to choose religion and profession; their lodges are a kind of club of interests, whose members raise mainly philosophical and moral issues. Well, all those who are not included in the elite list of initiates, of course, tend to attribute responsibility for the sins of mankind to the Freemasons.

Freemasonry is an example of a secret society, about which, nevertheless, everyone knows everything. Many iconic people on the planet are members, especially American presidents, of whom every second one was a Freemason, distinguished themselves. In principle, you can enroll as a Freemason even “from the street” - if you are lucky enough to make an acquaintance with a member of the Masons’ Lodge and successfully go through the archaic initiation rites.

"Skull and Bones"

One of the most influential secret societies in the world, judging by the scraps of information that reach ordinary people. The student closed order of Skull and Bones, founded at Yale University in 1832, included and continues to consist of the main representatives of the American elite - presidents, businessmen, politicians and public figures.

The society is famous for its irrepressible craving for symbolism and mysticism. Meetings are held in an ancient crypt on the territory of the university, in the corners of which there are real human skeletons and bones, skulls and other artifacts corresponding to the style of the order are scattered throughout. According to rumors, the acceptance of new members is accompanied by bullying, including the need to tell all your sexual desires while lying in a coffin, endure a naked beating in the mud, drink blood from the skull and kiss the feet of an existing member of the clan.

Of course, members of society are credited with all the most terrible crimes against humanity and are accused of implementing plans to restructure the world. Thus, in the administration of George W. Bush alone, there were about a dozen members of the order, since, according to the charter, members must help each other throughout their lives.

"Bohemian Grove"

A very strange get-together in the California forest. For more than a century, they gather there every July the mighty of the world This is why they have fun with all their might: they live in tents and houses, drink immoderately, and in between they decide the fate of the world.

Of course, access to outsiders is prohibited. In total, there are about two thousand people on the lists of initiates; as a rule, these are richest people America, including musicians, actors and other artists. There are vague rumors about obscenities occurring in these July weeks in 11 square kilometers of the grove, but there is no direct evidence, and in the rarest photos from there everything is decorous and noble.

It is reliably known that it was in Bohemian Grove in 1942 that the decision was made to launch the Manhattan Project to create atomic bomb. And this is despite the ban on discussing any business, expressed in the club’s motto: “Spiders who weave webs do not come here.”

Freemasonry is not a religion, not a top-secret society, not a forum, not an army or not a meeting. This is an order similar to knighthood; a brotherhood of people united by common ideas, secrets and plans.

Their intentions, meanwhile, are not as insidious as they like to report in exposé articles and mystical documentaries. So who are the Masons?

Freemasons are not a relic of the past; they exist openly to this day and do not hide their affiliation and views.

Total in modern world there are approximately five million members of the fraternity. Geographically, most of them are located in America and England (about 50%), the rest are distributed throughout the world.

Being a Mason does not mean being a secret spy. If your neighbor is a member of the order, he can calmly announce this while mowing the lawn or sitting at social gatherings. However, he is unlikely to talk about the secrets of the brotherhood, no matter how much you torture him.

Who are Freemasons and what do the Masons have to do with it?

The official formation of Freemasonry began exactly 300 years ago, in 1717. It was then that the first Grand Lodge appeared in London, dominating the rest of the communities.

However, secret professional guilds appeared back in the 13-14th century, and at first they were filled with completely simple and uneducated people, real free masons - builders of medieval cathedrals.

The very first temple, according to legend, was built by order of King Solomon. He was so pleased with the work of the architects that he gave them a special privilege - complete freedom from taxes.

The fame of the greatest builders quickly spread throughout the world, and they began to be invited to different cities and villages to erect cathedrals (with the same pleasant, “free” conditions).

Masons roamed the countries without hindrance - there were no borders or visa regime for temple builders. The entire reward was divided strictly equally, and to protect themselves from impostors they came up with secret symbols and rituals.

The ordinary working class, consisting of illiterate stonemasons and architects, was the only one of all who could move freely throughout Europe: thanks to their special skills in building temples from raw stone, they were welcome everywhere.

They had valuable knowledge of geometry and astronomy and had an understanding of the laws of the Divine - this distinguished free masons from the general mass.

During the construction of cathedrals, masters and students preached the ideals of brotherhood, friendship and equality, which formed the basis of Masonic covenants.

They united in guilds and held meetings in special lodges. It all started with the construction of temples of God, but then their ideas flowed into the symbolic construction of a new life based on morality and virtue.

It is believed that it was on the basis of the guild of stonemasons that an order was formed, into whose ranks they began to accept great men who were very far from architecture. In any case, the Masons themselves consider themselves followers and successors of the “free masons.”

Until now, their main symbols remain the square and compass (the main attributes of medieval architecture), connected into a fancy rhombus.

Why are Freemasons considered great conspirators?

By the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, the circle of Freemasons included many of the greatest bright minds. These were scientists, writers, creators, political leaders.

At various times, Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, Henry Ford, Winston Churchill, George Washington and Mozart were present in the boxes.

It was both a religion (with its own legend about Hiram Abiff, the builder of the very first temple, unjustly killed by three jealous junior workers) and a secret, powerful political party (attributed to hundreds of plots to change the world).

Power-hungry individuals and bureaucrats dreamed of destroying the Freemasons. Partly because the main priority for them was and remains free will. Their teachings and principles, close to the ideals of the revolutionaries, interfered with both the church and the elected government.

At the same time, in enormous power was concentrated in the hands of the Masonic lodge- it included the most influential people of the era who could locally introduce the ideas of brotherhood.

In the 18th century, Freemasons began to be persecuted, and over the years they were accused of many intrigues and unpleasant facts, from devil worship to the ruin of the Vatican, from conspiracies with Jews to the murder of Princess Diana.

They were never able to destroy them, but at the end of the 19th century they were obliged to publish them full lists members of the order.

Symbolism and ideas of Freemasonry

All Masons are men. These are exclusively religious people, there are no atheists among them. Since ancient times, Freemasonry has been based on monotheistic beliefs (in a single higher power), without singling out any particular religion.

In addition, the basis of modern Freemasonry was the regulations and principles of those very “free masons”.

Masons identify themselves with special symbols so that members of the fraternity can easily recognize each other. They often wear rings with special engravings, decorate their clothes with strange inscriptions and stripes, and shake hands in a “special way.”

They undergo a mystical rite of passage (in which they have to “die” and be “resurrected” three times), take an oath and fight for their brothers to the last (even refusing to testify against them in trials).

Masons of individual cities unite into local self-governing lodges, which are unobtrusively controlled by the Grand Lodge found in each country.

A Mason is considered a free and voluntary builder of a new life based on virtues. A man with an unclouded mind and noble intentions, resisting the attacks of fanatics, despots and ignoramuses.

Symbol of free masons.

Every Freemason honors God while in Freemasonry, he is addressed as the “Great Builder (Architect) of the Universe,” and is allowed to practice any traditional religion. Freemasonry is not a religion or a replacement for religion, Freemasonry does not have its own theology, and discussions on religious matters are excluded from Masonic meetings. Each Mason continues to profess the religious views with which he came into the lodge, and his greater attention to his religion is welcomed. The recognition of faith in God as the basis of Freemasonry and its principles goes back to the founders of modern speculative Freemasonry in early XVIII in and this is adhered to by the dominant majority of world Freemasonry (the so-called regular or Conservative Freemasonry), there is an emphasis on obligatory monotheism.

Freemasonry is positioned as a moral and ethical system, expressed in allegories and illustrated by symbols, most of the symbolism is borrowed from other cultures, legends with biblical characters are played out in rituals. The attention of Masons is drawn to the need for moral self-improvement, as well as spiritual growth within the framework of the religion that each of them professes. The philosophy of Freemasonry includes external elements from both Christianity and other religions.

The Radiant Delta reminds the Mason of the all-permeation of the Creator, the Supreme Being. This is the main Masonic symbol of the first degree, the degree of apprentice. Stylistically, the eye is often replaced by a circle inscribed in a triangle. In liberal Freemasonry, the Radiant Delta is considered a sign of enlightenment or the principle of consciousness.

One of the symbols of Freemasonry is also the acacia, which is considered one of the main symbols used in Freemasonry, and is associated with the so-called Legend of the Death of Master Hiram - the thematic basis of the Master Mason degree. Further: a plumb line - a symbol of the desire for perfection, a level - a symbol of equality, a square - a symbol of balance and reconciliation of the constant desire for perfection with what is actually achievable, a symbol of the earthly, a compass - a symbol of moderation and prudence, as well as the desire for the highest and spiritual, a trowel - a symbol of strengthening fraternal ties, etc. In Freemasonry, the biblical legend about the construction of Solomon's Temple is widely used.

Loyalty to the authorities of those countries and territories where Freemasonry exists is one of the Masonic principles. Working for the benefit of society is considered one of the Masonic virtues. For the majority of Freemasons in the world, this is realized by their participation in charitable activities.

Regular Freemasonry

Regularity (see also Freemasonry, Regularity) is the mechanism by which relationships in Freemasonry (fraternal relations) are established. It is implemented practically through a system of recognition of Grand Lodges (GL) by each other on a reciprocal basis.

The concept of regularity in Freemasonry is relatively young; it arose at the beginning of the 20th century, as a result of the spread of Freemasonry in the world. The Basic Principles (see also) were first published by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLA) in 1929, and later confirmed by it in 1938 in the document Aims and Relationships of the Craft. Other Grand Lodges of the world, with minor variations, have adopted similar principles and standards of regularity. At present, adherence to regularity and its recognition allow, with the autonomy of the national Grand Lodges and mutual respect for their sovereignty, global regular Freemasonry to be in an integrated state and create conditions for the preservation of Masonic traditions, indicating commitment to basic Masonic values.

Among the regularity standards:

With organizations that are not recognized as regular, but nevertheless consider themselves Masonic, relations in regular Freemasonry are excluded, and regular Masons are not allowed to attend their meetings. Grand Lodges usually publish in special publications lists of Masonic jurisdictions (Grand Lodges, Grand Orients) in recognition relations with them (see, for example, UGLE Recognized Grand Lodges).

Issues of recognition and relations are often dealt with by special commissions (systematizing information and developing expert opinions regarding the compliance of a particular Grand Lodge with the standards of regularity), in the USA, where there are Grand Lodges in each state, and recently the Prince Hall Grand Lodges (created by African Americans) are also recognized as regular, there is a general recognition commission that meets annually.

In many countries (including Russia) there is a principle that within a country or territory there can be only one regular Grand Lodge, however, historically and currently there are countries in the world where more than one VL operates in one territory if there is between these VL agreements on the so-called. "division of territory" or mutual recognition.

Regular Freemasonry is the strongest and most numerous in the world. IN modern Russia it is represented by the Grand Lodge of Russia (GLR). This is the only organization in Russia related to regular Freemasonry.

Requirements for candidates

The main requirements for candidates arise from general principles movements. The candidate affirms his belief in God, the Supreme Being. The Book of Constitutions, compiled by the London preacher James Anderson, instructed the Freemason to be “neither a foolish atheist nor an irreligious freethinker” and to support civil authorities. The candidate must be of mature age (in most Grand Lodges of the world at least 21 years old), have decided to become a Freemason of his own free will, be of good reputation, and be of “freedom and good morals.”

The traditional rule for joining the Order sounds like “to be a Mason, ask a Mason about it”, “2 be 1 ask 1”, the initiative to become a member of the lodge must come from the candidate. The candidate can apply to the Lodge at his place of residence. To join the lodge you need its recommendations full members, one way or another, entry is preceded by a certain period of acquaintance with the Freemasons, who recommend the candidate. Some jurisdictions require a candidate to apply for entry 3 times, however this is becoming less common. Some jurisdictions have made entry information public so that potential candidates know where to find more information.

The decision to join the lodge is made by closed vote. Members voting to join use white stones (balls are most often used in the ritual); those who are against are black. The number of dissenting votes required to reject a candidate's application is set by the local Grand Lodge, and in some jurisdictions is 1 vote.

Lodge membership and religious beliefs

A candidate's religious beliefs are a matter of his conscience. Upon entry, the candidate makes a commitment to the Holy Book of the faith that he professes, and which embodies the Revelation from above his faith, this can be the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, etc. Usually the candidate belongs to one of the traditional faiths, respectively, Christianity, Islam, Judaism , etc. (in lodges that are recognized as regular), however, in the irregular lodges of continental European Freemasonry, the requirements for the candidate’s faith are weakened, the candidate is allowed to accept the philosophy of deism or God - the “Great Architect of the Universe” as an abstract idea-symbol, or are generally canceled , and atheists and agnostics can enter the lodge.

Rite of passage

At the beginning of the ceremony, the candidate for Freemasonry is led into the Room of Reflection, painted black, the furnishings of which correspond to the name; it may contain objects that remind the candidate of the frailty of existence. In it, the candidate will write on paper a moral and philosophical will, his wishes and vows regarding himself and other people, his country, family and humanity as a whole. Then he will be asked to reaffirm his faith in God.

Before entering the temple where initiation takes place, the candidate is blindfolded. As a sign of humility, the candidate is “neither dressed nor undressed” (partially undressed, and the left breast is exposed as a sign of openness of heart), all valuables (“metals”) are taken from him, his right trouser leg is rolled up and his left shoe is removed. A rope is placed around his neck, symbolizing the bonds of human imperfection. The candidate is taken to the temple premises (the meeting room of the lodge), where he goes through ritual tests, listens to instructions of a moral and philosophical nature, and participates in small scenes and dialogues, the purpose of which is to clearly present the moral instructions of the ritual. At the end of the ceremony, he makes a solemn pledge to the Holy Book of the religion he professes (usually the Bible, with a compass and square also placed on it). Next, the candidate is removed from the bandage, saying that he has now “passed the test and is worthy of the Light”, a Masonic apron is put on him, and then the presiding officer at the ceremony (the Worshipful Master) announces to those present that they have now found a new brother and calls on them to help him in difficulties, being confident that he too Hard time will help them. Often the initiation ceremony is performed with musical accompaniment, which further enhances the candidate's experience.

The initiation rite was described by L.N. Tolstoy, who himself was initiated into the first degree, in “War and Peace” (episode with the dedication of Pierre Bezukhov), but there are also more modern scientific sources about Masonic rituals.

Freemasonry in Russia

Freemasonry appeared in Russia in the middle of the 18th century. In Masonic legends, Peter I and his associates Franz Lefort and Patrick Gordon are often named as the founders of Freemasonry in Russia. This version, however, has no documentary evidence. The first reliable news of the beginning of Freemasonry in Russia dates back to 1731, when the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of London, Lord Lovell, appointed Captain John Philips as Provincial Grand Master for Russia. The wide spread of Freemasonry in Russia began with the founding of several lodges by Russian service general James Keith in the 1740s. The documents of the Grand Lodge of England indicate that in 1740 he was appointed Provincial Grand Master for Russia. Initially, the majority of members of Russian lodges were foreigners - officers in the Russian service and merchants, but soon the number of Russian Freemasons by birth began to grow. In the 1750s, a lodge operated in St. Petersburg under the leadership of Count R. I. Vorontsov.

An alternative to the Elagin Masonic system was the so-called Swedish or Zinnendorf system, founded by the former chamberlain of the Braungsweig court, P.-B., who came to Russia in 1771. Reichel. In 1772-1776, Reichel founded several more lodges: “Apollo” (St. Petersburg), “Harpocrates” (St. Petersburg), “Apollo” (Riga), “Isis” (Revel), “Gorus” (St. Petersburg) , “Latona” (St. Petersburg), “Nemesis” (St. Petersburg) and “Osiris” (St. Petersburg - Moscow). In 1776, after negotiations, the Elagin and Reichel lodges merged into a single system.

New stage in the development of Russian Freemasonry is associated with the name of N. I. Novikov, who joined the Freemasons in 1775 in one of the Elagin lodges. Together with Johann Schwarz, Novikov launched widespread propaganda in Moscow, where the center of activity of Russian Freemasonry had shifted. On August 1, 1822, Masonic lodges were officially closed by the highest rescript of Alexander I.

A new stage in the spread of Freemasonry in Russia dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when the lodges of the so-called “Grand Orient of France” became widespread in Russia - then transformed into the “Grand Orient of the Peoples of Russia”. Freemasonry at the beginning of the 20th century was overtly political in nature.

After the October Revolution of 1917, Masonic organizations were banned, and Freemasons were persecuted by the Cheka-GPU-NKVD.

A small number of Russian lodges worked in exile, primarily in France. Over time, the number of Russian Freemasons decreased due to the aging of emigrants. During the German occupation of France during World War II, the remaining Russian lodges were closed along with all French lodges.

Historians of Freemasonry

Sergey Karpachev

Freemasonry in cinema

The mystery of Villa Gretta ()
The Bankers of God ()

"All-Seeing Eye" on banknotes

The “All-Seeing Eye” is depicted on the banknotes of several countries. So on the back of the 1 US dollar bill since 1935 there has been the Great Seal of the United States, which depicts a truncated pyramid with an eye. The initiators of the change in the banknote were G. Wallace and F. Roosevelt, its designer was Edward M. Weeks, supervisor of the Engraving Department of the Bureau of Currency and Securities at the US Department of the Treasury (the artist Nicholas Roerich, to whom some authors mistakenly attribute the idea of the banknote design, is not has nothing to do with this). The “All-Seeing Eye” is also depicted on the Nicaraguan banknote (1 cordoba) and on the Ukrainian banknote of 500 hryvnia (the author of the picture is Grigory Skovoroda).

Miscellaneous links

Notes

After amalgamation in 1813 with another Grand Lodge of Ancient Masons, formed in 1751, see History of the OGLA, 18th/19th century.
which in turn refer to the more ancient origin of this and other basic Masonic principles, see, for example, Anderson's Constitutions of 1823.
T. A. Sherkova. “Eye of Horus”: symbolism of the eye in predynastic Egypt. "Bulletin of Ancient History", No. 4, 1996
Amulets and symbols of the Egyptians
Pendant "Eye of Horus"
Landmarks are ancient commandments, a set of traditional principles of Freemasonry, the Masonic lodge, “milestones” that separate Freemasonry from what is not Freemasonry. The most famous set of landmarks is the Mackay Landmarks. Landmarks are reflected in the constitutions of modern lodges and the principles of regularity.
http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/History/masony/4.php
S. P. Karpachev, Secrets of the Masonic Orders, M., Yauza Press, 2007.
V. S. Brachev. Masons in Russia
"Charter of Freemasons"
About the Grand Lodge of Russia, VLR website.
S. P. Karpachev, Guide to Masonic secrets (freemason library), M., “Center liberal arts education", 2003.

Russian Freemasons did not recognize Soviet power, fought against it, and then went into exile. Most of them settled in France, maintaining contact with the lodges of the “Grand Orient of France” - the ancestors of the Russian lodges of the early 20th century.

In 1922 in Soviet Russia Masonic lodges were banned. Why did the Masons not fit into Soviet reality and diverge from the new government? An interesting interpretation of this was given by Jean Pierre Ragash, who was the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France in 1992: “The fact is that anti-Masonry was built into the very idea of the Soviet system, which could not tolerate any organization around it that did not depend on totalitarian state and operating absolutely freely." And then Monsieur Ragash commented very figuratively on how Soviet authority determined the essence of her anti-Masonic policy: “When Khrushchev was asked at one time: would it be possible to restore Freemasonry in Russia... o” said: “I do not intend to let lice under my shirt!” Let us pay attention to these words of the Grand Master. After all, this is direct evidence that during the Khrushchev “thaw”, foreign Freemasons were sounding out about the expansion of the influence of world Freemasonry on the USSR. The same thing happened during Gorbachev’s perestroika.

At the present time, international Freemasonry exists. According to various estimates, it includes from 6 to 10 million brothers. Two thirds of the total number of Freemasons in the world are in the United States. American Masons adhere to conservative views, helping ruling parties during election campaigns and promoting their leaders to important government positions.

The time when Freemasonry as a whole was a progressive movement that helped the radical bourgeoisie attack the feudal nobility and despotic monarchies has passed. But it would be a mistake to underestimate the role of this political association. Its leaders are using in the interests of the big bourgeoisie all the centuries-tested techniques of veiled political action.

In 1982, the world community was literally stunned by information in the press about Italian Freemasons, when the P-2 lodge was revealed. This is how solid the list of lodge members looked. It was headed by the former fascist functionary-entrepreneur Licio Gelli, and included the most influential people in Italy: the ministers of labor, justice, foreign trade, the secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, parliamentarians, the political secretary of the Social Democratic Party, the president of the association of Italian industrialists, bank presidents, General Staff of the Armed Forces, head of military intelligence and counterintelligence, head of the internal security service, commander of the Carabinieri corps in Naples, director of the newspaper. In total there were 962 people on the list. Subsequently it turned out that not all of them were listed there.

The investigation into the case of the P-2 lodge made it possible to find out that ministers were appointed and removed here, espionage information about progressive figures was collected, conspiracies and terrorist actions were planned to destabilize the situation in the country. Lodge "P-2" was a nest of espionage and sabotage and at the same time a shadow office, an invisible center of power. Journalist M. Pecorelli, who broke the norms of silence and spoke about the collaboration of Italian Freemasons with the US CIA, was shot dead by “unknown persons.”

We have provided such extensive information about the Italian lodge because such revelations are very rare. At the same time, they make it possible to imagine the real power of Freemasonry in modern structures the authorities of many states under the constant control and influence of world Freemasonry. Here is an example from England. In the spring of 1992, 10 thousand “freemasons” met here openly and solemnly to celebrate the 275th anniversary of the first Grand Lodge. Among the most prominent participants in the celebration was a member of the royal family - the Duke of Kent, who has been Grand Master of the Grand Lodge for 25 years. At the celebrations it was openly said that the united Grand Lodge numbers 321 thousand people, it has 8,488 local sections, of which 1,672 in London alone. It is known from the press that the Freemasons of England make up a significant part of the judicial and police corps, they are also among lawyers , doctors, financiers. The Grand Lodge is said to include the Queen's husband, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and former deputy prime minister in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, Lord Whitelaw.

Freemasons also occupy key government positions in France, and there is even a surge in their activity. By the beginning of the 90s. their number exceeded pre-war level. Today they claim to serve democracy, to work for the future. “Freemasonry does not set as its goal the seizure of power. The main thing for us,” assured the Grand Master of the most influential lodge “Grand Orient of France” Ragash, “is a discussion and comprehensive analysis of political, economic, social and other problems.”

The overwhelming majority of modern leading political figures in the West are either members of Masonic lodges or unconditionally accept the rules of the game behind the scenes of the world. Possessing higher degrees dedications, they perform purely political functions and are the core of the ruling systems of all Western countries. It is they who determine the policies of states, develop prospects for world development, prepare and promote their like-minded people (sometimes not even Masons) to senior positions in governments. Among their merits, the Freemasons consider the struggle for freedom and democracy, for global harmony. The latter could only be welcomed, if not for one of the ideological concepts of world Freemasonry - we mean the ideology of Masonic chosenness, which is based on the “great Masonic truth”, on the establishment of such a world order, such an understanding of freedom, democracy and harmony, which are not considered with no other views, do not take into account national interests. The goal of the Freemasons is to establish a world order in which the solution to all problems, even domestic ones, will be determined by their dominant views and will be under their control and influence.