Cult leader ordered to rescue children
A Russian doomsday cult leader who sent his followers into a cave to wait for the end of the world was taken to the site today to try to persuade them to release their children.
Twenty-nine followers of self-declared prophet Pyotr Kuznetsov went into a cave near the village of Nikolskoye earlier this month and have threatened to blow themselves up if forced to leave. They say they believe the world will end in May.
They include four children, the youngest aged 18 months.
Kuznetsov, who has agreed to seek the release of the children, was escorted to his followers’ refuge , 400 miles from Moscow, and began talks with them.
Kuznetsov is now confined to a psychiatric hospital, and was charged last week with setting up a religious organisation associated with violence.
Clerics from the dominant Russian Orthodox Church have tried unsuccessfully to persuade Kuznetsov’s followers to leave their cave, speaking to them through a ventilation hole.
Kuznetsov, 43, an engineer from a devout family, declared himself a prophet several years ago. He left his family and established the True Russian Orthodox Church and recruited followers in Russia and Belarus.
Kuznetsov told followers that, in the afterlife, they would be judging whether others deserved heaven or hell.
They were not allowed to watch television, listen to the radio or handle money.
