The traffic cop turned cult leader who claimed to be the son of god — and will now spend 12 years in jail - Alex Croft looks ...

Sergei Torop, 64, lost his job as a traffic cop before founding the Church of the Last Testament in 1991 and claiming to be ...

Former traffic cop Sergei Torop commanded followers to stop using money while extracting funds from them through ...

Vissarion and his followers believe the end of the world is coming and their Siberian community is the ark of salvation. Such sects have proliferated in Russia’s wilderness.

A Russian sect leader who claimed he was Jesus Christ reincarnated was sentenced to 12 years in a prison camp on Monday after ...

Vissarion's followers are strict vegetarians and they don't smoke or drink. The houses and churches are built from wood by hand and most of the energy comes from windmills and solar panels.

This image from August 18, 2009 shows Russian sect leader Sergei Torop known as "Vissarion", in the remote village of Petropavlovka, Krasnoyarsk region.

Vissarion Chakvetadze’s career is a shining example of the grit, nonstop learning, and nimbleness needed to thrive as a senior software engineer. As the tech world keeps spinning, ...

"Vissarion the Teacher," or "Jesus of Siberia," Russian ex-traffic cop Sergei Torop meets followers in the remote village of Petropavlovka, in Russia's Siberia region, August 18, 2009.

Sergei Torop, a Russian sect leader claiming to be Jesus reincarnated, received a 12-year prison sentence for harming followers' health and finances. Known as 'Vissarion,' he founded a religious sect ...

Vissarion, who normally dons a long white cloak and sports long hair and a beard, lives with his followers in Petropavlovka, or what he calls his “Siberian utopia,” The Guardian reported.