Russian Doomsday Sect
November, 2007: A Russian doomsday sect barricaded themselves into a snow-covered cave in a remote region of Russia called Penza. Their plan was to remain holed up until the end of the world, which they predicted would happen in May of 2008.
Fast Facts
- Cult refers to themselves as the True Russian Orthodox Church and the "chosen ones"
- About 30 members in the cave, including four children1
- Have threatened to blow themselves up if authorities intervene1
- Police were met with gunshots into the air when they first approached the cave entrance2
- Members took a vow of silence2
- Cult leader: Pyotr Kuznetsov
- Kuznetsov, who did not enter the cave, was arrested and placed in a psychiatric hospital
- Seven women left the cave in March, 20083
- Penza is 400 miles Southeast of Moscow
- Kuznetsov is an Architect
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