A Russian apocalyptic sect has retreated to an underground cavern, waiting for the end times. Russian police are literally on top of the situation, hollering down through a ventilation shaft. The sect has no name,
Underground spaces, persecution by authority, the end of the world - if that wasn't enough Gothic fodder, the sect's leader apparently offers yet another touch:
Izvestiya newspaper yesterday reported that Kuznetsov suffered from schizophrenia and that in the last few months he had been sleeping in a coffin.
The crisis began with a classic, Waco-style narrative:
The cave in Penza was discovered after the daughter of one of the missing cult members complained to the local prosecutor, Russian media said. Police then arrested Kuznetsov - who led investigators to the entrance. When they tried to approach together with another priest gunshots were fired in the air, NTV reported.
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