More than a month ago about 30 members of a doomsday cult barricaded themselves into an underground tunnel in Russia's Penza region. They're waiting for the end of the world. They refuse ID numbers of any kind, saying they conceal satanic meanings. RT takes a look at the cult's beliefs.

Sterligov, who once had a thriving coffin business, now lives as a peasant farmer after reportedly finding religion.

The group has now been underground for around two weeks, and has refused all attempts to persuade them to come to the surface.

Alexander Dvorkin, a Russian expert on religions and sects, earlier said that totalitarian sects were common in Russia, and that “control over their members is absolute, and anything that comes into the heads of their leaders has a direct impact on the entire group”.

Heavily medicated, Kuznetsov, 43, said that police had questioned him for four days to make him divulge the location of the sect’s cave. He explained away bruises around his eyes as a result of “falling face-down on the floor” in “dark corridors” at the police station.

Two women and three children have locked themselves in the house of the cult leader.

Pyotr Kuznetsov has agreed to seek the release of the children from the cave-like refuge, and authorities plan to escort him to the site Wednesday for talks with his followers, said Yevgeny Guseynov, a regional government official.

The cult leader reportedly told followers that in the afterlife, they would be judging whether others deserved heaven or hell.

Russian Orthodox priests sought Sunday to convince more than two dozen members of a doomsday cult to leave their underground forest hideout in the Penza region, but they stayed to await what they say is the end of the world.

Police are guarding the area around the clock, to prevent anyone from provoking the group. Local authorities are particularly concerned by unconfirmed reports of gunshots, fearing that the group may have weapons, Chernov says.

Members of the so-called True Russian Orthodox Church claim they will ignite canisters filled with 400 liters, or about a 100 gallons, of gasoline if authorities try to force them out, said regional administration spokesman Yevgeny Guseynov.

Police said the sect is awaiting “doomsday.” They have a stock of food, and warned the authorities that in case police made an attempt to force their way inside, they would blow up their tunnels with the gas containers they had stored.

Twenty-nine members of a religious doomsday sect, including an 16-month-old baby, are hiding in a snow-covered cave in the Penza region, refusing to come out as they wait for the end of the world next May, prosecutors said Wednesday.

A total of 29 sect members, including four children, of the so called True Russian Orthodox church have moved to the shelter, which contains underground wells, a kitchen, monastic cells and other facilities.