Priests fail to coax out suicide cult*

    * Story Highlights
    * Priests fail to persuade members of doomsday cult to leave cave in
Russia
    * Four children, one 18 months old, are among cult members holed up
in cave
    * Cult leader to face charges he set up a violent organization, news
agency reports
    * News agency: Cult members have threatened to commit suicide if
police use force

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Priests have tried unsuccessfully to persuade
members of a doomsday cult to leave a cave in southern Russia where they
remain barricaded inside despite the intervention of their leader.

Self-declared prophet Pyotr Kuznetsov is seen undergoing psychiatric
tests in mental hospital in Penza region.

The cult members -- including four children -- holed themselves up in a
ravine in the Penza region, about 640 kilometers (400 miles) southeast
of Moscow, earlier this month, threatening mass suicide if the
authorities try to intervene, a government official said.

On Thursday, Russian Orthodox monks tried to contact the cult, The
Associated Press reported, but members refused to speak to them. Priests
went again Sunday, but the followers refused to listen to their
arguments, a security official added.

The 29 members of the cult, which calls itself the "True Russian
Orthodox Church," say they will ignite gasoline canisters if authorities
try to force them out, regional administration spokesman Yevgeny
Guseynov told CNN.

Guseynov said officials would try to find experienced negotiators.
"There is no talk whatsoever of any sort of storming" the site, he said.

The cult excavated the cave system themselves after their leader, Father
Pyotr Kuznetsov, told his followers to hide themselves away to await the
end of the world, which he predicted will take place next May, according
to Russian media reports. Video Watch a cult expert discuss the standoff »

With efforts to persuade the cult members to leave the cave so far
proving futile, authorities have enlisted the 43-year-old leader to try
to get them out.

Although the cult members are exchanging letters with Kuznetsov, they
are mistrustful of his intervention because they believe he is acting
under the influence of the Russian government, Guseynov said.

"They still respect him, they listen to him but they don't trust him as
they believe he is acting under pressure from the authorities", Guseynov
said.

The cave dwellers are also refusing to speak to Russian Orthodox priests
brought in to negotiate, he said.

Kuznetsov was charged Thursday with setting up a religious organization
associated with violence. He has been undergoing psychiatric exams since
his arrest.

"I've met the man, and he's definitely mentally sick, big time,"
Guseynov told CNN.

A trained engineer, Kuznetsov did not let his followers watch
television, listen to the radio or handle money, according to Russian
media reports.

Among the children inside the cave is an 18-month-old baby, reported
Itar-Tass, the Russian news agency. Temperatures in the cave are below
12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit), the Russian news agency
reported.

The cult members have gathered enough food supplies to last until
spring, according to the agency.

A 24-hour operation has been established in the nearby village of
Nikolskoye incorporating teams of local police, officers from the
Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations and medical staff.
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Guseinov said specially trained negotiators have arrived on the scene to
talk with the cult members.