The Russian anti-cult lawyer claims that Islamic terrorists, Scientologists, and “Indian Satanists” all work together with the Witnesses and prepare a coup.
by Massimo Introvigne
The great conspiracy of the Russian Jehovah’s Witnesses, Act II. We reported in Bitter Winter that the lawyer of the Russian anti-cult federation RATsIRS, Alexander Korelov, had claimed that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were preparing a coup to overthrow the Putin regime, on behalf of the CIA and the Ukrainian intelligence, and with the help of Scientologists and Pentecostals.
Our readers might have considered the article as a curiosity, although Korelov is a famous lawyer in Russia, and one who has even spoken at the Belgian Parliament invited by MP André Frédéric, the current president of the European anti-cult federation FECRIS sharing the podium with Anne Josso, the general secretary of the French anti-cult mission MIVILUDES. Somebody might have thought that Korelov’s conspiracy theories would be regarded as extreme even by the Russian Orthodox Church, which published them in one of its local websites, and would be quickly forgotten.
Not so. On October 25 the same website, which belongs to the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Novosibirsk and is operated by Alexander Novopashin, the Vice President of RATsIRS (an organization that he insists is still part of FECRIS), published new and even more sensational revelations, which had also been featured in an article on the national (and historic) newspaper Izvestia.
This time, Korelov believes he has found the smoking gun. He claims that in the remote Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug on the Arctic Circle (where, coincidentally, FECRIS dignitaries gathered for a conference with Russian anti-cultists in 2017), mysterious men knock at the door of the residents and ask, “Where can I find the answer to the question about happiness?”
Considering the temperature on the Arctic Circle, an easy answer would be “Near the fireplace,” but according to Korelov this is “the handwriting” revealing that the men are Jehovah’s Witnesses. After the Witnesses were liquidated in 2017, “those adherents of the movement who remained in Russia and operate illegally on the territory of the country received instructions from the center through closed communication channels about the need to continue their activities, despite the prohibitions,” Korelov said.
One may object that the men asking the freezing residents of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug philosophical questions about happiness did not identify themselves as a Jehovah’s Witnesses. But it takes more than that to fool Korelov. “Simply put, he said, Jehovah’s Witnesses are required to resume walking around the entrances without directly naming their organization. Why is this being done? First, in order to resume their activities. And secondly, they are given operative instructions on organizing protests, including against the conduct of the Special Military Operation. That is, our fears about the danger of this organization are confirmed. The structure was essentially in a dormant mode, and today it is starting to show activity. According to my information, members of Jehovah’s Witnesses are asked whether they are ready for active protests, including physical resistance to representatives of law enforcement agencies.”
One cannot but admire Korelov’s sagacity. He finds in the reported story of the men knocking at the door and asking about happiness in a remote Artic region evidence that riots and a coup are being prepared.
Another possible objection is that there are not enough Jehovah’s Witnesses to organize mass protests and overthrow the government. They are more than many believe, answers Korelov, and they will not act alone. “If we add to this [the number of the Jehovah’s Witnesses] that other cults, including the neo-Pentecostals and the Scientologists, will be involved in the protests, then we get a fairly significant number of people.”
Other darker forces are also being mobilized. Earlier this month, the Russian Orthodox Church expressed concern for billboards that appeared in Berdsk, in the Novosibirsk Oblast, advertising the Indian new religious movement Sahaja Yoga, founded by spiritual master Sri Mataji Nirmala Devi, who died in Italy in 2011. Sahaja Yoga is not banned in Russia (so far), but Korelov claims it is a form of “Indian Satanism” that practices “ritual murder.”
This makes it an ideal candidate to be mobilized by Ukrainian intelligence for the coup against the Putin regime, together with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Scientologists, and the Pentecostals, following “instructions received from across the ocean,” i.e., from the United States. But let’s not forget the Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists. “It is known for sure, Korelov says, that the Ukrainian special services and their [American] handlers considered the possibility of integrating religious fanatics to fight Russia. They dreamed of creating a crazy cocktail of ‘Islamic’ extremism and Ukrainian neo-Nazism.”
One may only wonder what sensational revelations Korelov and the Russian FECRIS affiliates will offer us as the next installment of their conspiracy novel.
