Moscow To Launch Anti-Sect Program After Police Bust Major Cult

Andrey Popov, self-styled “God Kuzya,” the head of a notorious radical cult accused of whipping and torturing members of his group © RT Moscow’s City Hall intends to create a special memo detailing the dangers of destructive sects and containing advice for those who fall under influence of such groups.

Renat Laishev, of the Moscow Duma committee for public movements and religious groups, said in comments with M24 news site that in the very near future the legislature would discuss the format and content of the much-needed memo. He added that the document must contain two key points: how to determine a destructive sect and who to address in case of any problems with destructive cults. The head of the Ethnic Policy and Tourism department of Moscow city government, Vladimir Chernikov, said that once the memo is created it would be distributed by all available means, including internet advertising and handing out leaflets near churches and in public places.

RT report continues: 

Aleksandr Korelov, of the Russian Association for Research into Religions and Sects, called the initiative very important, adding that people under stress need to have it explained to them that joining a sect can cost them their property, health and in some extreme cases even their life itself.

Investigators found the equivalent of US$4 million in his seven Moscow apartments © RT

Earlier this month, police in Moscow busted a major cult of a man who called himself God Kuzya after his dead parrot. Top members of the sect were accused of beating and torturing other participants and investigators said they seized about US$4 million in various valuables in their apartments.

Apart from that, the Russian Orthodox Church accused the God Kuzya cult of defrauding the visitors of Christian fairs by installing their own stands at these events and collecting donations.

Security forces also found several rare animals during their searches, including an armadillo, an echidna and a talking parrot.

In a separate incident, about 35 people locked themselves in an underground bunker in central Russia's Penza region over fears of the approaching end of the world. They spent several months there, only leaving their hideout after spring floods started to destroy it.

'I Was God Who Created Christ': Whipping Cult Leader Held With US$4mn In Cash Stash And A Crocodile

More than 30 sectarians, mostly women, immured themselves in a cave on the slope of a ravine near the village of Nikolskoe, the Penza Region. Locals call this village Poganovka. / RIA Novosti

RT had earlier reported:

Russian police have detained the self-styled “God Kuzya,” the head of a notorious radical cult accused of whipping and torturing members of his group, most of them women. Investigators found the equivalent of US$4 million in his seven Moscow apartments.

38-year-old Andrey Popov, a visually impaired man, nicknamed God Kuzya after his dead parrot, is infamous for his claim, made in one of his speeches: “I was God who created Christ. I have already done eight times what Christ did.”

Popov is a man with multiple religious personas. He has previously called himself “Archbishop Roman,” and has variously claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, Russian saint and spiritual leader Sergey Radonezhsky, 19th century Russian occultist Yelena Blavatskaya, and the Archangel Gabriel.

It has been reported that during one meeting with his followers, he whipped and tortured them with a belt up to 300 times, and slapped their faces up to 100 times. He allegedly punished followers for “offenses” such as communicating with the outside world, taking medicine, or making a phone call to relatives.

An eyewitness has claimed that during one of the beatings, God Kuzya was noticed shouting “Cool, cool!” and when the group member protested that he “was going to faint,” Kuzya replied that it was merely his body that was “weak,” but that his spirit “was holding up fine.”

Former members have revealed the structure of the cult, which is believed to have a strict hierarchy of six “circles.” In the first circle are his wives, the second includes his harem, and the third consists of close followers. The fourth circle includes other followers, with women in that circle aiming to get into the harem. Women who have managed to flee the group say that Popov enjoys torturing his wives and the harem, and any refusal is treated like an insult, with the woman who attempts to escape set to “pay with her blood.”

The fifth circle are those who don’t know about the godlike nature of “Kuzya,” and the sixth consists of those who were cast away by him – people in that circle are called “demons” or “cucumbers.”

Popov’s other passions apparently include money, and lots of it. According to some accounts, his followers used to prepare baths filled with banknotes for him. The cult’s source of income included selling apartments: the followers were to give their property and other “worldly possessions” to Popov.

The Russian Orthodox Church has accused Popov’s cult of setting up shop at Orthodox fairs, which are its alleged main source of income. The group members pretend to be representatives of a little-known cathedral or monastery, and offer to perform various religious services for money.

However, Popov then pocketed all the money himself and no services were ever conducted, media reported.

The police video from the scene obtained by RT shows a crocodile confiscated by police, as well as 43 million rubles and US$100,000 found by the security forces.

Apart from that, police discovered “personal computers and notebooks containing ‘accountant’s notes’ indicative of unlawful actions aimed at getting money from innocent citizens,” police spokesman Andrey Galiakberov said.

Last May, police searched two apartments connected with the cult, finding 240 million rubles and US$150,000 respectively, as well as child pornography.

Security forces also found several rare animals during their searches, including an armadillo, an echidna and a talking parrot.

Russian media have compared Popov’s cult with the notorious Tokyo sarin attackers, the infamous religious organization Aum Shinrikyo that killed 12 people, left 50 others severely wounded, and 1,000 visually impaired.