Russian cult members await apocalypse underground

Malaysia Sun (IANS) Wednesday 14th November, 2007

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), Nov 14 (RIA Novosti) Over two dozen followers of a cult in central Russia's Penza region have moved to a tunnel waiting for the apocalypse, which they say is due in May 2008, a local prosecutor said.

Apocalypse, in Greek, means revelation of hidden things and today the term is often used to mean the end of planet earth.

According to Alevtina Volchkova, the members of the cult had dug the tunnel and stocked it with food before moving to the new shelter, which contains underground wells, a kitchen, monastic cells and other facilities.

There were 29 cult members, including four children, in the tunnel, Volchkova said. They belong to the so-called True Russian Orthodox church and have written a letter to local authorities saying they had gone underground 'of their own free will'.

'The inhabitants of the underground shelter have threatened to set themselves on fire if forced out,' Volchkova said. A criminal investigation had been launched against the cult leader who calls himself Father Pyotr.

He is likely to undergo a psychiatric examination and will face up to three years in prison if found guilty of infringing his followers' rights.

When policemen and local priests tried to persuade cult members to leave they threatened to blow themselves up, as they have plenty of explosive materials, such as bottled gas and kerosene, the official added.

Meanwhile, a Russian tabloid quoted a cult follower as saying: 'It was God who told us to act this way; a book about us is being written in heaven.'

The tabloid also said the cult was established about two years ago by a 43-year-old local, Pyotr Kuznetsov, who set up a prayer house in the village.

'They (cult members) don't work and stop their children from going to school,' the newspaper quoted a local resident as saying.

Several months ago, a message saying that 'sorry, we have made a vow of silence' appeared on their church doors and Kuznetsov announced the advent of the apocalypse. When their shelter was completed the cult followers moved in.

'A microbiologist is among them and the temperature inside is 12-17 degrees Celsius,' Volchkova said.