Ashram Shambala () is a Russian occult / esoteric group founded in Novosibirsk in 1989 by Konstantin Rudnev. It has approximately 20,000 followersKonstantin Rudnev: Russian cult leader jailed for sex abuse. The Telegraph. 08 Feb 2013. and branches all over Russia.Новосибирский суд арестовал два коттеджа, купленных на деньги секты "Ашрам Шамбала". Интерфакс. Novosibirsk court arrested two cottages purchased with money from the Shambhala Ashram sect. Interfax. December 30, 2010.
History After graduating from engineering college, Rudnev served in the Soviet Army, where he offered to create a monastery similar to Shaolin Monastery. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital in Samara for indiscriminately firing an assault rifle. In 1989, he returned to Novosibirsk, where he founded the Ashram ShambalaШамбалой по ашраму. Lenta. January 18, 2014.Главу секты посадили с третьей попытки. Коммерсантъ. February 8, 2013.
The group offered spiritual classes in the basement of the school on Relsovaya Street in Zaeltsovsky District. Rudnev began calling himself "Guru Sotidanandana," and claiming to have been taught by a lama in Tibet. In 1999, he was arrested and (again) sent to a psychiatric hospital, but escaped. He was detained again in 2005, but his followers refused to testify against him.
Arrest and trial Rudnev was arrested again in 2010. A search of group members' houses revealed audio and video recordings of their rituals, ritual accessories, as well as four grams of heroin.На пути дурака нашли героин. Газета.ru. October 5, 2010. In 2013, a Novosibirsk court found Rudnev guilty of rape, indecent assault, distributing illegal drugs, and leading a violent organization; and sentenced him to 11 years in a corrective labor colony.
Return of confiscated property A year later, the court returned the cottages and cars that had been confiscated from group members. In March 2016, the Central District Court of Novosibirsk returned gold and money to Rudnev's assistant, the "priestess" Oksana Spiridonova.
Features Rudnev called himself an "extraterrestrial from Sirius". His followers called him "Great Shaman Shri Dzhnan Avatar Muni." He is the author of a book, The Way of the Fool.
Adherents of the group are claimed to have practiced group sex and bestiality.«Учитель» осуждён, а дело живёт. В Новосибирске вынесен приговор лидеру секты. Аргументы и факты. February 7, 2013.
Allegedly, they slept three or four hours a day and ate very little. People lost their teeth, only to be told that they would be reborn as sixth-race beings fed by divine energy, who do not need teeth.Руководителя тоталитарной секты ловили 5 лет. Известия. September 28, 2004.
Sources of income Rudnev organized seminars on yoga, the esoteric foundations of business, sexual liberation, and other subjects. In 2010, a similar lecture by the guru of "Ashram Shambala" cost 53 thousand rubles per person.Дело секты «Ашрам Шамбалы» живет и побеждает? Комсомольская правда. February 26, 2013.
The group sold various magic items: amulets and talismans.
People sold their apartments, cars and gave all the money to the group.
Headquarters The group's headquarters is located in a mansion on Kosmonavtov Street 1a in the Sovetsky District of Novosibirsk.Лидера опасной секты в Новосибирске арестовать не смогли. К истине. October 30, 2008.
Bibliography
Alban Bourdy, Un Bisounours au pays des se(x)ctes, Books On Demand, 2018. A testimony of a former follower of the sect.
References
External links В Новосибирской области арестован создатель секты. Телеканал НТВ. The creator of the cult was arrested in the Novosibirsk Oblast. NTV channel. September 27, 2004. Ashram Shambala’s website https://ashramshambala.org/