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The Cult Dossier · No. 083 · Christian-Derived

Church of the Last Testament

Vissarionites; the Community of Unified Faith

1991 – 2020 · Kuraginsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai, southern Siberia

X. RUSSIA, KOREA AND SOUTH ASIA

Fully religious — Christian-derived Siberian commune

Who led it

VISSARION (born Sergey Anatolyevich Torop, b.1961), a former traffic policeman and factory electrician from Krasnodar who in 1990 declared himself the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Lieutenants: Vadim Redkin, a former drummer in a Soviet pop group who serves as his scribe, and Vladimir Vedernikov.

What it worshipped and taught

Vissarion as Christ returned. Doctrine blends Christianity, Buddhism, reincarnation, ecology and apocalypticism, set out in the Last Testament, a multi-volume scripture written by Redkin. Practices: strict veganism, ban on alcohol, tobacco and money within the community, no swearing, a calendar restarted from Vissarion's birth in 1961, traditional gender roles in which women are subordinate, and self-sufficient agrarian life in the taiga. Members built the Abode of Dawn (Obitel Rassveta) on a remote mountain, walking in through the forest.

Who was in it

Vissarion (Sergey Torop); Vadim Redkin; Vladimir Vedernikov; THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS at its height, with a core of about 300 living at the Abode of Dawn and others spread across Siberian villages and pilgrims drawn from abroad — many of them educated Russians, engineers, doctors and artists, who left the cities in the 1990s. The commune is known as the ABODE OF DAWN or SUN CITY.

How it ended, or where it stands

Leadership convicted and imprisoned; the Siberian settlements persist without them.

The dead

—

Of note

Assessment is complicated by the Russian state's broad and politically-driven use of extremism charges against minority religions, which it has also applied to Jehovah's Witnesses. Former members do allege psychological control, medical neglect and financial exploitation; the community denies it.

Its timeline

  1. 18 August 1991 Torop announces his identity, four days before the Soviet coup attempt.
  2. 1994 onward Followers begin migrating to Siberia; the Abode of Dawn is built.
  3. 1990s–2010s The community becomes a fixture of international photojournalism; the settlements are largely peaceful, self-sufficient and openly visited.
  4. 22 SEPTEMBER 2020 Russian security forces raid the settlements by helicopter. Vissarion, Redkin and Vedernikov are arrested and flown to Novosibirsk, charged with creating a religious organisation that causes harm and with extracting money and inflicting psychological violence.
  5. 2020–2025 The three are held in custody for nearly five years before verdict.
  6. 30 JUNE 2025 CONVICTED in Novosibirsk of creating a religious organisation that violated members' civil rights and caused bodily harm. Prosecutors established psychological manipulation used to control and exploit followers for labour and money between 1991 and 2020. TOROP RECEIVED 12 YEARS in a maximum-security penal colony; VEDERNIKOV 12 and REDKIN 11, as reported by Reuters and the Moscow Times (an earlier version of this file said the reporting conflicted). The court awarded 45 MILLION ROUBLES (about 572,000 US dollars) in damages to the victims and the state. Memorial, the Russian rights group, lists all three as political prisoners.
  7. 2025–2026 THE SETTLEMENTS CONTINUE OPERATING without the leadership. The community did not disperse.

Its people

Vissarion

Sergey Anatolyevich Torop

Founder, Church of the Last Testament · born 14 January 1961 · active 1991–2020

A former traffic policeman and factory electrician from Krasnodar who declared himself the reincarnation of Jesus Christ in August 1991, four days before the Soviet coup attempt. He drew thousands of followers, with a core of about 300 at the Abode of Dawn, — many of them educated Russians, engineers, doctors and artists — who left cities to build the Abode of Dawn on a remote Siberian mountain. The community practised strict veganism, banned alcohol and money internally, restarted the calendar from his birth in 1961, and enforced traditional gender roles. His scripture, the Last Testament, was written by his scribe Vadim Redkin. He was arrested by helicopter raid in 2020 and convicted after nearly five years in pre-trial detention.

Before the law. CONVICTED 30 June 2025; 12 years. NOTE: the Russian state applies extremism and harm statutes broadly against minority religions, including Jehovah's Witnesses, so the conviction should be read with that context.

Where things stand. Incarcerated. The Siberian settlements continue without him.

  1. 18 August 1991 Announces his identity.
  2. 1994 onward Followers migrate to Siberia; the Abode of Dawn is built.
  3. 22 September 2020 Arrested in a helicopter raid by Russian security forces.
  4. 2020–2025 Held in pre-trial detention for nearly five years.
  5. 30 JUNE 2025 CONVICTED in Novosibirsk of creating a religious organisation that violated members' rights and caused bodily harm. SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS in a maximum-security colony, with 45 million roubles in damages ordered; Vedernikov received 12 years and Redkin 11.

Checked 2026-09-17 · living: health details are kept at home

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