Tag: True Russian Orthodox Church

A court in central Russia ordered on Friday the leader of a doomsday sect that recently spent more than six months underground waiting for the apocalypse to undergo compulsory psychiatric treatment.

“The defendant will not be responsible for the crimes he committed when mentally ill. The court has ordered compulsory treatment for him in a psychiatric ward,” Judge Maria Smyslova said.

Although Russian cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov has already been declared legally insane, the court will attempt to determine his mental state at the time his followers first went underground.

A local court in Russia’s Penza region is set to hear the case of the Doomsday cult leader, Pyotr Kuznetsov. He is accused of inciting religious hatred after he inspired 35 of his followers, including four children, to lock themselves in an underground bunker to wait for the Apocalypse last November.

No confinement is in store for Kuznetsov in the habitual sense of the word because he was declared insane, Shatsky said.

The bunker became home to 35 sect members, including children, who barricaded themselves in last November waiting for the end of the world.

The long-running saga made local officials aware of some of the problems facing residents and local authorities even repaired roads to allow easier access to the cave, locals said.

Earlier Friday, rescuers and police completed an operation to bring to the surface the bodies of two deceased sect members. “As we pulled out the dead bodies, we suggested the others leave. They agreed,” Vladimir Provotorov said.