The Map of Human Wishes, or Letters near Convent Walls in Moscow

The materials presented in the article are related to the spontaneous folk cult of St. Sophia, that take place in Moscow, in the Novodevichy Convent, near the Naprudnaya (Sophia’s) Tower. Pilgrims leave special letters to Sophia with requests for help and encouragement. Authors analyzed statistics of requests (in form of letters and graffiti), age and gender structure of pilgrims, characteristics of requests etc.