Cult leader seeks to free children, official says

[Ian David]

Black Collar Crime and Doomsdayery

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A doomsday cult leader whose followers are barricaded inside a cave in southern Russia will be taken to the site in an attempt to secure the release of several children, according to a government official.

The 29 cult members -- including four children as young as 18 months -- retreated last month to the hideout in the Penza region, about 640 kilometers (400 miles) southeast of Moscow, threatening to blow themselves up if the authorities tried to intervene.

Self-declared prophet Pyotr Kuznetsov, who was not with his followers, is now in a psychiatric hospital but will be taken to the site Wednesday to seek the release of the children, Yevgeny Guseynov, a regional government official, told The Associated Press.

Russian Orthodox monks and priests have already tried to contact the cult members who are reported to be mostly women, but members refused to speak to them, AP reported. The 29 members of the cult, which calls itself the "True Russian Orthodox Church," say they will ignite gasoline canisters if authorities try to force them out, Guseynov told CNN.


Self-declared prophet Pyotr Kuznetsov is seen undergoing psychiatric tests in a mental hospital.

More:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/20/doomsday.cult/


See prior thread:

Christian Sect Members Wait in Russian Cave for World to End
Topic started by IanDB1 on Nov-16-07 12:37 AM (4 replies)
Last modified by cosmik debris on Nov-16-07 09:30 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=214&topic_id=154781

[Javaman]

1. Why do I hear tunes of WACO whistling in the distance? nt

[knitter4democracy]

2. Oh heck. This happens every once in awhile in our church.

Some great mesmerizing speaker comes along, convinces a bunch of people he's got the only true faith and that the Orthodox Church is wrong, and all heck breaks loose. *sigh* I'll pray that this ends without bloodshed.