Watch moment rape cult leader who told followers he was an alien called Great Shaman is arrested in Argentina
THIS is the moment a Russian rape cult leader who called himself an alien named Great Shaman is arrested in Argentina.
Konstantin Rudnev, 57, was handcuffed and dragged away by cops at Bariloche Airport as he attempted to flee to Brazil with six women.
Video shows the twisted guru — who once claimed to be a god from the star Sirius — being busted in a dramatic operation that saw 14 suspects snared at two airports over 1,000 miles apart in a joint swoop by Argentine authorities.
Rudnev — already convicted of rape and running a violent sex cult in Russia — reportedly tried to slit his throat with a razor as officers closed in, according to El Pais.
He was reportedly treated for his injuries and was pictured with a bandage around his neck.
He now faces fresh charges of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and drug offences, more than a decade after he was jailed for 11 years in Siberia for a string of abuse crimes involving female followers.
The bizarre cult, Ashram Shambala, founded in 1989 in Novosibirsk, brainwashed followers — mostly women — into surrendering their property.
They would reportedly cut ties with loved ones and take part in so-called “ritual orgies” in exchange for “salvation.”
Women were allegedly coerced into sex with Rudnev — while male followers were ordered to remain celibate.
The cult even flogged recordings of the encounters to fund operations and promised spiritual enlightenment via “women’s practices” and Eastern esotericism.
Rudnev once wrote a book titled ‘The Way of the Madman’, which became required reading among the group’s 20,000-strong base of fanatics across 18 Russian regions.
He previously served in the Soviet military but ended up in a psychiatric hospital after going berserk on guard duty, opening fire at random targets.
Authorities swooped after a 22-year-old pregnant Russian woman arrived at a hospital in the picturesque Patagonian city of Bariloche.
Medics were alarmed by her terrified expression and frail condition — and the suspicious behaviour of two Russian women who accompanied her.
“Her passport said she was 22, but if she’s even 15, that’s too old,” a detective told local outlet Infobae, raising fears the woman could be a minor.
Police linked the women to Rudnev and tracked him down at the airport — just as he was about to board a flight to Buenos Aires with a connection to Porto Alegre in Brazil.
A simultaneous sting at the Buenos Aires airport netted the rest of the cult, including another man and six women — five Russian and one Mexican.
All 14 suspects were remanded in custody.
Cops found 130 cocaine pills, $15,000 in cash, a satellite phone, 12 mobiles and 10 SIM cards in their possession, El Pais reports.
A former member of the cult previously told Russian media: “One of the sect’s mottos and one of the guru’s favorite expressions is ‘eat less, jump more!’ My body began to wear out and I lost a lot of weight. I looked like a dystrophic alcoholic.”
Women were said to be fed leftovers from those higher in the sect’s pyramid, while “ritual pornography” was filmed — including at a luxury hotel in Montenegro last year where Rudnev was previously detained.
Religious scholar Alexander Neveev described the cult as a “very dangerous pseudo-tantric group” practising “ritual violence” under the guise of spirituality.
Rudnev was released from prison in 2021 and had been living under the radar until his re-emergence in South America.
Now locked up again, he faces a new legal nightmare — as investigators probe whether the other detainees are fellow perpetrators or victims under his twisted spell.
The young mother and her newborn have been separated from the group for their safety.
The case is being handled by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Bariloche. A preliminary hearing is expected in the coming days.
The investigation is ongoing.