Russia’s Doomsday Cult

According to reports, a cult of about 30 “simple Christians” have holed up in a cave to await the doomsday, which they believe is approaching next May, in Penza region of central Russia. Police have been dispatched to prevent anyone from interfering with the cult, which has threatened mass suicide, reportedly by blowing themselves up. The group was inspired to seal themselves off in the cave by their leader Pyotr Kuznetsov, a 43-year-old diagnosed schizophrenic now under arrest. According to the MT, Kuznetsov’s group believes that the Orthodox Church has become too commercialized with its own tax code and business activities, and the sect represents the real Church. Apparently the newfound religious freedom since the fall of the Soviet Union has led to a widespread growth of influence of religious cults and sects – even a traffic cop who claims he is Jesus is reported to have attracted 5,000 followers in Siberia. A surprising number of Russians refuse new passports and taxpayers’ personal identification numbers, saying the figures contained “satanic” combinations of numbers. Someone might want to let the Penza cult know that the apocalypse is scheduled for March 2, 2008, not May.