The religious scholar called the "Ashram of Shambhala" one of the most violent sects.

The sect "Ashram of Shambhala" (banned in the territory of the Russian Federation), founded by Konstantin Rudnev, is one of the most cruel and merciless in the entire post-Soviet space. This was announced to Izvestia on April 1 by religious and sectarian scholar Alexander Dvorkin.

"[Rudnev] was engaged in slavery, turned them (members of the sect. - Ed.) into sex slaves, humiliated them, destroyed them, mutilated them," said Dvorkin.

According to him, the leader of the Shambhala Ashram does not seem like a charismatic person at first glance, but he manages to attract people.

"A cruel, merciless and completely sociopathic man, for whom the main thing is only the enjoyment of power, even money is not so important," he described Rudnev.

The mechanism of entry into the sect, the expert added, is almost always the same.

"This is recruitment through deception, the promise of all sorts of different possibilities, supernatural abilities, which, naturally, can be obtained. And then the person is placed in a tightly controlled sectarian environment," he explained.

Dvorkin noted that through group pressure and influence on the sexual sphere, a new sectarian is quickly subordinated to a common pattern of behavior.

"[In the Shambhala Ashram sect] hundreds, maybe even thousands of young people were injured," concluded the religious scholar.

Earlier that day, an ex-member of the Shambhala Ashram spoke about the sect's way of life. According to her, members of the sect go through daily so-called warm-ups, workouts, penances and practices of karma yoga. At the same time, every action of the sectarian requires an account to the elder, right up to going to the bathroom. The girl explained that a variety of people can get into the sect: those who are obsessed with esotericism or the spiritual path, vulnerable people and those who find themselves in a difficult life situation.

Yesterday, Argentina reported on the detention of Konstantin Rudnev, the founder of the Ashram of Shambhala sect. It is noted that he was trying to fly from the Argentine city of Bariloche to Brazil, accompanied by five Russians and one Mexican woman. During the arrest, according to the portal, Rudnev attempted suicide.