They did - there were a lot of mystery religions and cults that sprung up throughout the later parts of the empire. It's more obvious though in the days of the

They did - there were a lot of mystery religions and cults that sprung up throughout the later parts of the empire. It's more obvious though in the days of the last Romanovs, or the late Weimar republic. As official life becomes more opaque, corrupt and secretive, people tend to internalize this as their model for understanding the world.