10 April 2008
Eight Belarusian doomsday cultists expected to return home soon
Eight Belarusian members of a doomsday cult that have barricaded themselves in a cave in Russia's Penza province are soon expected to return home, the RIA Novosti news agency said on Wednesday with reference to a deputy chief of the local migration department.
"Belarus' nationals have an intention to return home," Vladimir Yudin was quoted as saying.
The local migration department is reportedly preparing documents that the Belarusians need to travel to their home country. Mr. Yudin said that the department also was waiting for certified papers from the Belarusian interior ministry to send the people back, adding that Belarusian diplomats or officials would arrive in the province to help the group return.
Over 30 people went underground near the village of Nikolskoye in the Penza province in November 2007 to await the end of the world that they expect to happen this May. They threatened to blow themselves up if authorities attempted to force them out.
Two of them died during the vigil, including a Belarusian woman, a cult member who came out last week told Russian media.
It is believed that 11 people – nine women and two men – are still remaining in the cave. Four of them are Belarusians.
The group, which calls itself the "True Russian Orthodox Church," is led by Pyotr Kuznetsov who is thought to have ordered his followers into the cave but did not join them.
http://brestonline.com/en/news/news2319.html