A social psychologist named the number of Russians who belong to sects

The number of people who belong to sects in Russia varies from 500,000 to several million people. Social psychologist Mikhail Vershinin told about this on Monday, August 18.

According to the expert, this figure refers to those who believe in various cults.

The exact number of sectarians is difficult to track due to the lack of official statistics. It is difficult to conduct it, as there are many cults and they differ greatly from each other, Vershishin noted.

"We conducted a study in which we studied the structures of Scientologists in Russia and compared their branches and directions with similar ones in Europe. It turned out that there were no fewer structures in Russia than in the European Union. Based on this, we could say that we had more than 100,000 Scientologists," Vershinin said in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

He added that the number of information gypsies and influencers has increased in the country, whose methods "are similar to the control of a leader over his flock." They are just as dangerous as destructive cults, and can damage not only a person's psyche and financial condition, but even lead him to suicide, Vershinin believes.

The expert stressed that anyone can join the sect, although there are categories of people who are more susceptible to this. Among them are those who have recently lost loved ones or are experiencing a severe life shock. In addition, it is easier to recruit people with a non-humanitarian education than with a humanitarian one, since "they have a more flexible worldview," the psychologist concluded.

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Earlier, on July 23, the Tushinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced the leader of a cell of the Chinese Falun Gong sect, a member of the Falun Dafa Center for Spiritual and Physical Development (both organizations are banned in the Russian Federation and recognized as extremist). Natalia Minenkova was sentenced to four years in a general regime penal colony, reports 360.ru .

She was charged with organizing the work of a foreign or international non-governmental organization (NGO) deemed undesirable in Russia. She was also accused of selling products from undesirable organizations and organizing the study of banned extremist literature.

In May 2024, the leaders of the banned Chinese totalitarian sect Falun Gong were detained in Moscow.

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