All language subtitles for Vissarion.EN

There is a place
in Russia where people

have discovered the secret of
living in perfect harmony.

A place where the children run
free, where the Earth provides

everything you need, and where
money is meaningless.

Welcome to the Church of
the Last Testament.

This is Petropavlovka, a small
settlement located deep within

the Taiga Forest of Siberia,
over 100 miles away from the

nearest town.

It looks like an elf village at,
like, a putt-putt course.

About 20 years ago a handful
of disciples came here to

worship and live with Vissarion,
or "the teacher,"

as he is commonly known.

Today, Vissarion's Church of
the Last Testament has over

5,000 followers from all
around the world.

About 2,000 live here and in
the surrounding areas.

Happiness was a secret.

When I called you,

in that moment you will see

the world of happiness and purity.

Touch the world in front of you.

I came here in hopes
of meeting the man

himself, who hasn't granted an
interview to the media in at

least three years.

Take heed of the voice that

to save you.

Two decades ago,
that man was known as

Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop, a
29-year-old patrol officer who

suddenly had a revelation that
his was the word of God.

Perceive this great sacrament.

Conveniently,
this realization happened

right around the time
the Soviet Union, a

self-proclaimed nation of
atheists, began to crumble,

and religion became an
acceptable topic of

discussion in Russia.

He soon began writing the Last
Testament, a 12-volume

follow-up of sorts to the New
Testament, which details the

religion's major tenets and
provides answers to some of

life's most mundane questions,
such as which brand of

detergent you should use.

Labeled a dangerous cult by
some, it has been reported

that Vissarion and his followers
believe in aliens,

think suicide is A-OK, and
believe that the end of the

world is imminent.

There are rules here that
I was warned about--

no cussing, no tobacco,
no alcohol, no meat.

I believe it's all vegan.

I've got to watch my mouth
because I have a dirty mouth.

And I like meat, I like
drugs, sometimes.

There's none of that here, so
it's going be good to dry up.

I was invited here by one of
the church's more recent

converts, a 24-year-old woman
named Tamriko, who worked as a

lawyer in Moscow before moving
here three months ago.

She now works the German House,
a sort of guest house

for the spiritually curious.

Why don't you give me a little
history of how you got here?

When I first heard
about the teacher,

it was me like this kind
of thing that-- wow.

It was like, this is the only
source of all information, of

all answers, and this is a
real teacher of the truth

about the world.

And so--

Something feels--

And sometimes you need answers.

You need, just, answers.

Answers, yeah.

And somebody will explain you,

like, everything.

He will explain your life.

Why are you doing this.

Why you have some problems--

problems with your health,
problems with your life.

For what purpose, actually,
you are living.

I see.

And one of the things that a
lot of people have said is

like, oh, it's a cult.

You know?

How do you feel about that?

It has a bad connotation.

Usually, I don't think

anything about this.

Do you know why?

Because I think that if some
people find that this person

can help them, and they
want to pray to

this person, why not?

OK, yeah.

Why not, it's very good.

Is there anything
that you perhaps

disagree with here, with--

Here?

--the teaching.

With teachings, you know?

No, no, no, no.

OK.

Disagreeing with Vissarion's
teachings is rare, which

became very apparent after
meeting Tanya, a patron of the

local girls school--

a place where young ladies go to
learn "the discipline," as

she put it.

Is part of the lesson
plan set aside for

study of the teacher?

The girls here study how to
live in peace with each other.

They also study how to behave with a man.

That's the key of our education.

We communicate to the
girls that man is a creator.

He is a master.

He must build a house and
comprehend masculine professions.

That's why we educate
boys and girls separately.

So, do you ever
have strong girls that maybe

resist, and they're not so with
that line of thinking?

A woman behaving as

taking man's responsibilities
leads to disharmony.

If she rejects these rules,
she puts her health at risk.

The harmony will punish
her with a woman disease.

Thank you.

Come back to us and bring
your daughter to our school.

Bring your girlfriend!

We will make the best assistant for you.

As tempting as brainwashing
my girlfriend

into misogynistic slavery
sounded, I had mountains to

climb and deities to meet.

I had been invited to celebrate
the Holiday of Good

Fruits at the Abode of Dawn, a
small mountaintop community

where Vissarion and his closest
followers live.

I stopped at the general store
to get supplies for the hike.

So I have the luxury, after a
40-hour trip, of eating a CCC

pop, We just bought provisions
for two days.

This is kind of the
treat before--

I don't even know if
I'm supposed to be

eating this, to be honest.

I don't know what Vissarion's
stance is on

candy and ice pops.

But it's hot, so.

Mmm.

I climbed into a Soviet-era
bread loaf and begin the bumpy

drive up the hill.

And we've got a good crew, just
materialized here at the

base of the mountain.

Looks like we're about
ready to go.

My hiking companions had
traveled from Germany,

Slovenia, Sweden, and beyond,
all in hopes of catching even

a glimpse of the elusive
Vissarion.

Along the way,
I met Maciek, a university

student from Poland.

What did you come
here seeking?

I came to see what it's all about.

I was told that they share their wives.

They told me that the people
here would mess up my brain,

and that I might never come back.

We made it to what appeared to
be a border crossing, and the

attendant took down
our details.

Rocco.

USA, right?

Yes.

Our guide, Nina, led me to the
place where I'd be staying for

the next two nights--

Welcome.

the home of a lovely Russian
family who immediately offered

me cold vegetable
soup and bread.

The food is blessed.

Bon appetit.

Vissarion's serene gaze
watched over us as

we ate our blessed meal,
spiritually charging us for

the upcoming nighttime
liturgy.

We're going to go see what
worship is like here.

I feel like I'm kind of in a
different world, to be honest.

The pre-holiday liturgy
didn't seem too

different from a
Christian Mass.

But I would come to find out
that things weren't that

simple here.

Still, all the followers had
been very pleasant so far.

Only a few seemed to have the
crazy stare of a cult member.

I ran into Maciek and asked him
how he was settling in.

So how have the accommodations
been?

What accommodations--

very, very well.

I met nice people.

We had a nice conversation.

And then they asked me, when did
I accept the teacher and

his teachings.

And I said, well, I'm not
really a follower.

And then there was, like,
a minute of silence--

second of silence.

And it felt uneasy.

But they got over it.

But I think they felt a
little disappointed.

OK.

And are you--

they have our passports.

I know.

Are you a little concerned
about that?

I am.

It's like, you know--

yeah, so I don't want to be
insulting, but you come to the

place which is far away from
anywhere in the world.

You come to people who are known
to be members of a cult,

of a religious group of--

--of some sort, now.

Let's put it like this.

And then they take your
passport away

straight when you--

And they were pretty--

They are pretty
persistent about that.

Yeah.

Physically and spiritually
exhausted from my long

journey, I turned in for the
night to rest up for the

Holiday of Good Fruits and our
first glimpse of Vissarion.

Once you enter through these beautiful gates,

remember that you are leaving a
state of mind where all thoughts of

worry and other strong
emotions will be washed away.

Today is August 18,
which is the high holy day

of the year-- the Holiday of
Good Fruits, the Church of the

Last Testament's most
important holiday.

Basically, it's their Easter.

It was on this day in 1990 when
Vissarion first realized

his divine connection to God
and established his church.

It's the reason that thousands
of Vissarionites from around

the world have gathered
here today.

Will you go through the gates?

Will you go through the gates?

We began our ritualistic
procession up the

mountain, a five-hour
journey replete

with ceremonial washing--

that felt good--

mood music, and supremely
positive vibes.

Looking back, I think it was
supposed to serve

as a sort of mental palate
cleanser for what lay ahead.

Up the mountain we go.

Part of the reason I wanted
to come here--

the world seems to be in a
pretty bad way right now.

This seems to be an idyllic
community, so maybe Vissarion

has some answers for
us on how we could

better live our lives.

Or maybe he's just
got it right, and

people should come here.

They're actually pretty
good musicians.

Oh wow, beautiful.

I found a little friend in this
hole here, watching us.

He looks very surprised,
like us.

Wide-eyed.

Stopping again for
another hymn.

Something happened to me while I
was walking up the mountain.

Was I experiencing the initial
stages of indoctrination?

Everything looked
so beautiful.

And the people seemed
so happy.

I began to wish that I could
be more like them.

Slava, another in a long line of
guides/minders, didn't want

me to miss the site where the
site where Vissarion literally

left his mark on
mother nature.

The teacher,
when the first time on this

mountain, take your hands
on this stone.

And after we turned the stone,
we see this letter, it was the

first letter of his name--

Jesus.

In Russia, kha, letter kha.

You may see it.

Yeah, we should see.

Is it OK for me to touch?

Russian kha.

Kha.

Christos.

In English, Jesus.

Christos.

It's there.

While the rest of the followers
gathered around the

stage where Vissarion would soon
give his sermon, Slava

took us to visit the monastery
for young boys.

A trampoline.

For jumping.

I'll jump.

Andrei is the master
of those boys.

Of all the boys.

Why do you live here?

Why did you come here?

The teacher introduced me to the world

that I have always felt
and was seeking to live in.

I realized that the world I was
dreaming about is not a fantasy.

It is a reality that you can create.

It's a place where your dreams come true.

I always dreamt to live on a
hill close to a beautiful lake

and pass my knowledge to the next generation.

We sat down with
17-year-old Ivan, who,

among other things, was learning
the "masculine

professions."

Working with power tools.

And with gas operated equipment.

How long have you been

living at the monastery?

Two years.

Two years.

And how do like it?

Very much so.

What's your favorite thing to

do during the day?

To be helpful to others.

Are you planning on

starting a family soon?

Of course.

Do you have in mind a,

maybe, a potential wife?

No?

OK.

That's it.

We'll stop there.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Beautiful.

Wow, that's amazing.

You can see they're clearing
out this side over here.

Perhaps to build more housing.

Their numbers are continually
growing.

I see why people stay, though.

It's very beautiful.

People who are interested in
joining the community and

living here, is there anything
that one must do to become

part of the community?

Or can you just come
and live here?

You just need to have a desire to
come here and find an opportunity

for your contribution as far as your
understanding, ability and helpfulness.

If I moved here,
I'm an editor and a

writer, so, I'd have
to learn Russian.

But perhaps I could
help with that?

You will be welcome.

The writer's profession is
also fascinating because

we strive to create new works where
negative characters do not exist.

Hmm, a place
where negative characters

don't exist.

That sounded pretty
good to me.

Clean energy?

Healthy living?

Virgin brides?

I started wondering if the Abode
of Dawn could be that

place for me.

Here we go.

I'm going to hurt myself.

And then, finally,
it was time for us to

get our first glimpse of
the teacher himself.

Any moment, now, Vissarion's
going to descend from the

stairs and address
everyone here.

And as you can see, everyone's
eagerly anticipating it.

I have not doubt in my mind that
they believe he is God.

And it's interesting and kind of
scary, too, to see so many

people have so much faith
in one man, or god.

We had traveled
thousands of miles to the

middle of nowhere in Siberia
to see this man, Vissarion,

address his congregation on what
they call the Holiday of

Good Fruits.

It was sort of spooky.

Vissarion's making his way
down now, very slowly.

Very Christ-like.

And just as Vissarion
was about to share

some infallible nuggets
of wisdom--

--they made us turn off the camera.

After giving a short sermon
in hushed tones, Vissarion

blessed bread made by the
community for the ensuing

feast and bid his followers
farewell.

Happy Holiday!

Happy Holiday!

Happy Holiday!

So we just have finished the

sermon with the teacher.

And Nina's going to translate
a little bit for

us of what was said.

I remember exactly
his first phrase--

"I'm glad that you still
survive." Because everybody

was laughing.

And then he spoke about that
we, all of us, are pupils--

Pupils, yeah.

--in the school of life.

"We are all peoples in

the school of life"?

I guess that's true.

But I'm not sure it provided
me with any answers.

We're going to see if we can
interview some pilgrims.

Some people that came to see
Vissarion from afar.

What is your feelings
about Vissarion?

He is my friend. The real friend.

He fulfills my life.

Why did you make
the journey here today?

I simply felt that it was my place to be.

You need to feel it to understand.

It is impossible to express in words.

How did you first hear
about the teacher?

I learned about him from the
"Segun and Sport" magazine.

I felt a great strength from the article.

Compared to years past,

does he seem happy?

Does he seem in good spirits?

I think it's hard to apply
our normal moods to him

I have a feeling that he
has his own state of being.

Even though he is next to you,
you feel like he is far away.

After the liturgy, we ran into our

Polish friend, Maciek.

How do you feel?

I mean, do you feel that there's
something about him

that's beyond human?

I don't want to insult anybody,

but I don't, no.

I feel it's an interesting
place and

an interesting person.

And I think these people
around me want

to live a good life.

And I do appreciate that.

But I don't perceive
him as divine.

After mingling
with some members of the

congregation, I headed to bed
to rest up for the next day

and my big interview
with Vissarion.

There's a lot of
stars tonight.

I was talking with Slava about
the beautiful and clear

nighttime sky, when he told me
that stars weren't the only

things up there.

Sometimes we see it!

You've seen UFOs?

I see it one time.

What did it look like?

A big object, a triangle and

in a corner three spheres.

Three spheres.

Yeah, OK.

Other people see it too.

See it too?

The next morning, we got up
bright and early and took a

secret path to Vissarion's
home.

So we're finally here at
the teacher's house.

And we're going to interview a
man that many people believe

to be the word of god.

I suddenly became very
anxious about my

meeting with the teacher.

What if I actually had an
audience with someone who is

the word, and perhaps
flesh, of god?

Why did you agree to an
interview with me?

Because I know that you haven't
for quite a bit.

I am not sure.

Are you regretting it now?

OK.

I want to know about Russia.

Was it a coincidence, or was it
just happenstance that this

community came to be around the
same time as the fall of

the Soviet Union?

It was not a coincidence.

Freedom of a religious denomination
was supposed to happen around that time.

Otherwise it would've been hard
to establish the community.

Magnificent changes in society
were essential to destroy

the foundation of habitual beliefs.

Man has to experience hunger for
sacred truth, then go look for it.

I think I understood
what he was saying.

But I was struggling with how
to tactfully ask someone who

looks like Jesus if he's the Son
of God without coming out

and saying it.

You're very Christ-like
in your appearance.

I'll say it this way-- do you
have memories of Christ from

2,000 years ago?

Do you carry on in that
way, in that lineage?

Here are conscious and unconscious memories.

It's senseless to preserve a
body with an identical mind.

Identity shapes accordingly for its own time,

when it's needed to appear
on the Earth in a physical body.

Since there is no constant need for it,

the intervals between
reappearing would be long.

That's probably as close
to a yes as I was

going to get.

It seems like the world is--

there's lots of riots.

There's uprisings.

Is the turmoil and conflict in
the world right now worse than

you've experienced?

It's assured that 80% of the Earth's population

has serious mental disabilities.

But these people have weapons in their hands.

It's spreading further.

That's why a psychological explosion will
happen in places with weaker inhabitants first.

Was Vissarion talking
about Armageddon?

Naturally, I was curious as
to when that might happen.

Is that coming soon?

It's hard to measure the time.

It's preferable that the chaos
vigorously demonstrated

by human civilization will end soon.

Talk about dancing
around the subject.

I switched gears, and,
remembering Slava's

extraterrestrial encounter,
asked him about the church's

stance on what they call
"the outer space mind."

Outer-space minds don't have a soul.

Technological progress for them
is a natural form of development.

The peak of human civilization's
growth and the moment of fateful choice

were supposed to happen simultaneously

with the transformation of Earth's
geophysical structure.

I have to admit,
Vissarion lost me

somewhere in between the end
times and soulless aliens.

Still, I could see how his
followers could really get

into this stuff.

It's a hell of a lot more
interesting than Adam and Eve

and the crucifixion.

The teacher's handlers
signalled that it was

time to wrap up.

But I was determined to slip
in a few simple questions

that, with any luck, would
be answered in a

straightforward manner.

How about food.

What's your favorite
dish to eat?

It would be difficult for me to say
something that you would understand.

I interpret things differently.

A man without penchant--

which apparently extended to
answering questions in a

fashion that I could
understand.

But this was my last shot.

At the very least, maybe I could
glean something about

the purity of my own being.

Just meeting me briefly,
can you tell me

anything about myself?

I can feel a person but
cannot define the features.

They are undefined.

It depends on what you want to hear.

I'd say--

So last question.

If you could tell one piece of
advice that our viewers here

could follow relatively easily,
what would it be?

Do not try to be superior
among the people around you.

That intention leads to death.

OK.

I'm not sure if I was supposed
to or not, but there is no way

I was leaving without a photo.

So I hopped right in there.

So we've finished our journey
here, and going back to New

York City, and pollution,
and terrible people.

In other words, all the things
that I find weirdly

comforting.

What can I say?

I'm a man of modern
convenience.

But if it ever gets too much
for me, if the scum of

humanity becomes so sticky and
viscous that I can't scrub it

off, I know there's a place
where I can drop

out and be at peace.

And the next time someone
complains to me that

everything sucks, or our
problems are unsolvable, I'll

just tell them--

there's this place you can go
in Siberia where they'll

accept you with open arms.

A place where the children run
free, where the earth provides

everything you need.

And where money--

There is no more Jesus in Siberia!

For now, he will be staying in Moscow.

On September 22, 2020, during a special operation,
officers of the Federal Security Service of

Russia detained Sergei Torop, aka Vissarion,
aka Siberian Jesus.

Are we still doing crucifixions?

No?

He was detained together with other leaders
of the community - Vadim Redkin and Vladimir

Vedernikov - on the fact of illegal activities
of a religious organization and on suspicion

of psychological violence against multiple people.

Let's remember who this person is and how
he managed to build a small paradise away

from civilization.

So, Sergey Torop was born in 1961, and at
the age of 14 he moved with his mother to

the Krasnoyarsk Region, to the city of
Minusinsk.

Funnily enough, I talked about Minusinsk just
a week ago in a video about the most terrible

Russian prisons.

Vissarion has every chance to be back in the
city of his childhood.

Until the age of 28, Sergei lived an ordinary
life - he served in the army, then worked

as a mechanic, electrician, artist, finally
sergeant of the traffic police.

And in 1990, after visiting the UFO club,
he “experienced a spiritual awakening,”

as he himself says.

Naturally, he immediately conducted his first sermon in
1991, but he still not Christ.

Jesus just spoke to him from the orbit, and
Vissarion himself was his prophet, prophet

Iefley.

Vissarion began to call himself Jesus only
in 1994, when he created the Church of the

Last Testament - the most successful cult
in the history of modern Russia, practically

the only one that survived for more than 25
years.

In the early 90s, Vissarion began to travel
around the former USSR and recruit followers

for himself.

Jesus didn’t possess a special gift of persuasion
(many even say that he is very tongue-tied

and boring in his sermons), but some people
insist that he mastered the technique of hypnosis.

There are reports that people often fell
asleep at his lectures, and when they woke

up they already becane ardent adherents of
the cult.

Vissarion tried to keep all his followers
close to him, so he strongly advised them

to move and live “under his wing”.

Those people who wanted to be closer to God,
for the sake of this, sold their houses, and

moved to various villages of the Krasnoyarsk
Krai.

In total, Vissarion at that time received
up to ten thousand followers.

Not everyone is allowed to live next to him
- many have stayed in their cities and are

working as preachers, about 2-3 thousand live
in the villages of the Krasnoyarsk Region.

Finally the closest ones - 150-200 people
- live in the Abode of Dawn itself, next to

their God.

As I said, the Siberian Jesus is not very
charismatic, which means it is more difficult

for him to keep supporters around him.

If God Kuzya could keep women nearby simply
by the power of his charm, then Sergei had

to come up with other methods.

The most effective thing is to take away everything
that these people had.

They sold apartments in Moscow in order to
move to the Siberian taiga, and then donated

all the money to the community (or to Sergei
himself).

And where will they go now, even if they are
disappointed in the cult and want to leave?

They have nothing left, which means there
is simply no way back from Abode of Dawn.

Abode of Dawn was founded in 1995 by followers
of Vissarion in the Kuraginskiy region of

the Krasnoyarsk Krai.

Children in the community most often do not
go to general education schools, they are

taught according to a special program.

Thus, Vissarion raised his second wife for
himself - he sheltered the girl Sonya and

her mother and married her when she was 17.

His first and, well, legal, wife, Lyubov,
endured for some time, then could not stand

it and left for Krasnoyarsk.

Vissarion did a good job on the theoretical
basis of his religion, which is a mix of Hinduism,

Buddhism, Christianity and the teachings of
Karl Marx.

The cult has a tithe, its members are obliged
to work hard, only manual labour is used.

Alcohol, meat and all technological advances
are prohibited.

Moreover, Vissarion himself does not follow
these rules.

The sect has its own chronology and calendar.For
example, the year 2020, according to their

chronology, is only 59th (from the birth of
Vissarion), and there are only three holidays..First

- April 14, Earth Day (in fact, this is the
approximate day of Vissarion's conception).

The second - August 18 - Day of the fall of
the Kingdom of Power (in fact - the day of

the August Coup in the USSR), the Third - January
14, the day of the Nativity of Christ (in

fact - the birthday of Sergei Torop).I don't
know how the cult celebrate these holidays,

because they banned not only alcohol, but
also any other material values.

They can't even buy a cake in a nearby store
for god's sake!

But polygamy is allowed - at least they have
this.

Information about the increased attention
of federal investigators to Vissarion arose

more than once, but police always faced the
fact that the local authorities had zero complaints

against him.

It is known that in 2005 Vissarion obliged
the followers of his cult to support the governor

of the Krasnoyarsk Krai Alexander Khloponin
in the elections in exchange for leaving his

settlement alone.

In addition, on major matters, he tried not
to oppose the state – In 2000, during the

counter-terrorist operation "Whirlwind-Antiterror"
FSB officers detained 35-year-old Tatyana

Nekhorosheva-Sokolova, who was a member of
Vissarion cult and also a wanted terrorist.

Vissarion himself helped the investigation,
again, in exchange for the quiet life of his

village . But everything comes to an end.

Since 2018, constant searches have been carried
out at Abode of Dawn and, finally, on September

22, 2020, Torop and his closest assistants
were detained.According to a local resident,

machine gunners and helicopters took part
in the special operation.

Most likely, the private school "Istoki" in
the village of Cheremshanka is to blame.

Up to a thousand followers of Vissarion live
here and their children go to this school.

The fact is that in addition to the usual
subjects of elementary school, the teachings

of Vissarion are also preached in it.

And this is against the laws of the Russian
Federation.

Although most likely this was not the end
of it.

In the past 5 years, the community of the
Vissarion cult became very withdrawn, they

even stopped recruiting new people.

Any such closed community can hide crimes
for a long time: there can be violence, murders,

and other things.

Sooner or later this becomes known to the
law enforcement agency: apparently, one of

the former members of the community complained
and after that the searches began.

If the leaders of the sect are found guilty,
they may face fines of up to 3 thousand dollars

and imprisonment for up to 12 years.

However, we have already seen the case of
the god Kuzia, who stayed in prison only for

a couple of years.

Vissarion also left a legal loophole for himself
- formally, he does not in any way keep his

followers around him - if someone wants to
leave, then he can do it.

Another thing is that people do not have any
money to do this, since money is prohibited

in Abode of Dawn.

But the charge of “kidnapping and illegal
detention of people” will definitely not

be brought against Sergey Torop.

So, perhaps, soon Vissarion will return to
his people, and the God will reappear in Abode

of Dawn.

According to the investigation

they [Torop and two aides]
profited from their religious activities

by attracting money
from citizens,

they also used
psychological abuse

and, after
a long time,

the health of some of the followers

of the religious organisation
has been seriously affected.