NOVOSIBIRSK, February 7 - RAPSI. On Wednesday the Novosibirsk Region Court sentenced Konstantin Rudnev, the founder of religious sect Ashram Shambala, to 11 years in prison and ordered him to pay 3.7 million rubles ($123,500) in favor of the aggrieved, RIA Novosti reports.

Rudnev, 44, was found guilty under four Criminal Code articles for founding a religions association which infringes on human and civil rights, rape, sexual assault and selling drugs.

However, the court exonerated him for founding the religious association because the two year statute of limitations stipulated by this article had expired.
Rudnev told journalists that he would appeal the sentence.

Konstantin Rudnev was detained in his summer house outside Novosibirsk in September 2010. The hearings began in July 2011 and were held behind closed doors.
According to the prosecutors, Rudnev called himself the messiah, or the "stranger from Sirius," who was sent to Earth to save devotees.

He recruited new members at local yoga seminars. He was accused of promoting drug use, forcing participation in orgies and employing psychological abuse, such as sleep deprivation and starvation. Many of the members donated all their material possessions to the cult.

Investigations opened against Rudnev in 1999, 2004 and 2008, but were closed before reaching court, as the cult members refused to testify against him.

Authorities have said the cult was established in 1989 in Novosibirsk and has branches in 18 regions across Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. According to the regional prosecutor's office, Rudnev's teachings are based on his book, "The Way of the Fool."

The book ridicules the family and the desire to have children, an education, and to work, but praises blind subordination to the will of the guru, who claims to lead his followers to a better future through abandoning anything that isn't essential.

The sect reportedly has 30,000 members. However, only 16 individuals came forward as aggrieved parties in the case against Rudnev.