Vissarion: Is this Russian cult leader a fraud?


The City of the Sun is home to a mysterious Russian cult known as the Church of the Last Testament. Its leader Vissarion used to be a traffic cop but now believes he is the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Last September armed security officers stormed the City of the Sun and arrested Vissarion and two of his closest aides. They have been accused of embezzling funds from Vissarion’s followers and physically or mentally abusing them.

BBC Russian’s Nataliya Zotova travelled to Siberia to find out more about what happened.

Filmed in October 2020 under local Covid-19 conditions.

Produced by Vladimir Pirokov, Ksenia Churmanova and Paul Ivan Harris



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