© Getty Images / Fairfax Media / CRAIG SILLITOE
Earlier this week, St. Petersburg police SWAT teams raided the mysterious "Order of the Path," a cult run by psychologist-turned-"magister" Gayva Tihomirova, and arrested the leader, 78.ru reports. The raids targeted the main "temple" of the organization, which was converted from a two-bedroom apartment, their offices, and the stables outside the city where, the shady Order held their cabals. By day, Tihomirova and company played therapist to wayward souls who wandered into the "temple" looking for help with their troubles. By night, the sinister organization worked on "preventing the apocalypse, protecting life and civilization on planet Earth, and the planet itself" by getting their victims to pay them tens of thousands of dollars for "divine protection" spells.
Hooking the target
An average "client" that Tihomirova's operation targeted was a man like "Roman" (name possibly changed to protect his identity), who spoke to 78.ru. Roman was a well-off St. Petersburg-based businessman with a dark secret: he hit the bottle pretty hard. The rich alcoholic heard about the friendly psychologist from a friend of a friend, and decided to visit the "temple" to try to find a cure for his addiction. At first, the organization drew him in: everyone was friendly, really listened to his concerns, made him feel like they actually cared about him. For a man who got used to hearing from doctors that they couldn't help him, this was a real change of pace. Roman was hooked, and kept coming back for Tihomirova's $100 "balancing" sessions.
Comment: Fear and Knowledge