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

1. Cult refers to themselves as the True Russian Orthodox Church and the "chosen ones"
2. About 30 members in the cave, including four children¹
3. Have threatened to blow themselves up if authorities intervene¹
4. Police were met with gunshots into the air when they first approached the cave entrance²
5. Members took a vow of silence²
6. Cult leader: Pyotr Kuznetsov
7. Kuznetsov, who did not enter the cave, was arrested and placed in a psychiatric hospital
8. Seven women left the cave in March, 2008³
9. Penza is 400 miles Southeast of Moscow
10. Kuznetsov is an Architect

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