By Sergei Zavgorodny

KIEV, Ukraine (FR) – One example of the proliferation of religious cults in the former USSR, is the “White Brethren,” a group which fuses certain tenets of Christianity with eastern religions such as Hare Krishna.

Most of the White Brethren disciples are between the ages of 13 and 20 years. Psychologists state that their followers, generally young people, suffered mentally from the fanaticism of the “Brethren.”

The cult came into existence several years ago through its leader Krivonogov who is said to possess hypnotic abilities. His wife claims to be an incarnated Messiah and Living Goddess. Having mistakenly predicted the end of the world several times, they marked this year with the date of November 24.

Ukrainian officials reported that over one hundred thousand adherents of this cult were coming to Kiev in order to “celebrate” this event. The city expected a riot, but nothing serious happened. The leader and Messiah now are under arrest, their followers being dispersed.