Cult Threatening Mass Suicide in Southern Russia

Members of the “True Russian Orthodox Church” have holed themselves up in a cave and have refused to surface, threatening mass suicide if Russian authorities attempt to draw them out.

The 29 members of the doomsday cult believe that the world is set to end in May 2008 and have prepared an elaborate cave system in the Penza region, approximately 400 miles southeast of Moscow, to wait out the days, and have ignored the efforts of authorities who have attempted to draw them out.

While the members remain hidden, the cult’s leader, Father Pyotr Kuznetsov, has been working with authorities on the outside trying to bring his followers to the surface.

Those inside the cave have threatened to ignite gasoline canisters if there is an attempt to force them out. There are four children among the cave dwellers, one being an 18-month-old baby.

Kuznetsov had been arrested on Thursday and charged with setting up a religious organization associated with violence. Despite his efforts to work with the authorities and end the standoff, his followers refuse, believing their leader is operating under the influence of the Russian government.

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