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The end of the USSR in 1991 was one of the most cataclysmic events in history, with its aftereffects still being felt three decades on. But there was one such moment triggered at the same time, that ...
A self-styled mystic Vissarion and two aides were sentenced to prison for using psychological pressure to extract money and ...
The traffic cop turned cult leader who claimed to be the son of god — and will now spend 12 years in jail - Alex Croft looks ...
A religious sect leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ has been sentenced to 12 years in a Russian ...
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Daily Express US on MSN'Jesus of Siberia' jailed after cult leader and his disciples hurt thousands of peopleSergei Torop, 64, lost his job as a traffic cop before founding the Church of the Last Testament in 1991 and claiming to be ...
Vissarion and his followers believe the end of the world is coming and their Siberian community is the ark of salvation. Such sects have proliferated in Russia’s wilderness.
"Vissarion the Teacher," or "Jesus of Siberia," Russian ex-traffic cop Sergei Torop meets followers in the remote village of Petropavlovka, in Russia's Siberia region, August 18, 2009.
Vissarion's followers are strict vegetarians and they don't smoke or drink. The houses and churches are built from wood by hand and most of the energy comes from windmills and solar panels.
Vissarion, who normally dons a long white cloak and sports long hair and a beard, lives with his followers in Petropavlovka, or what he calls his “Siberian utopia,” The Guardian reported.
Vissarion, who has proclaimed himself a new Christ, leads a mass prayer in the village of Petropavlovka, about 580 km (360 miles) southeast of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk August 17, 2007.
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