Why was M.G. Rudometkin Imprisoned??

By Michael P. Lediaev
The Christian Molokan Besednyik, Spring 1992, Vol. 5, No.1. Pages 10-14.

There are several misconceptions that currently exist about M. G. Rudometkin. One of these misconceptions has to do with the reason for his arrest. In order to better understand this, we have to consider the state of the Russian sectarians of that time. Basically, they were looking for the end of the world. This was brought about by a prediction made by an English Methodist, Young Stilling (John Henry), in a book Pobednay Povest (Translated from German into Russian in 1815). In this book, Stilling predicted that the Apocalyptic events of the Book of Revelation would be fulfilled in 1836. Even though these events did not come to pass as predicted, it did not discourage the Russian sectarians from believing that the end of the world was imminent, with the coming Millennium to be set up at the base of Mt. Ararat. These expectations were also kept alive by false prophets proclaiming the end of the world and the imminent beginning of the millennial kingdom. According to the Book of Revelation (11:3-12), two witnesses would appear before the start of the Millennium. As it was believed by some that the two witnesses would be the reincarnations of Enoch and Elijah, such a belief gave rise to many false Enochs and Elijahs.

[NOTE: For more on Jung-Stilling's influence on Molokan-Jumpers, see Berokoff, Molokans in America, chapter 5.]

One of these false prophets was Lukian Petrovich Sokolov, who around 1830, appeared with two tribulation witnesses, Enoch and Elijah, and more than once predicted that the end of the world was imminent(1). This is the same L.P. Sokolov whose writings we find in the book, Spirit and Life (pp 65-75). Present day Maximisti believe that his writings are sacred, and regard him as a great martyr and a preceptor of the faith.

Rudometkin also lived at this time and place, where the Russian sectarians expected the second coming of Christ and the end of the world to occur at any hour. It was in such an atmosphere that Rudometkin began to prophesy and set dates for the end of the world and the beginning of the thousand year Millennium. Rudometkin first prophesied that the Millennium would start in 1857. When the Millennium did not materialize, Rudometkin again prophesied that it would come in 1860(2). That year came and went, but again the kingdom was nowhere in sight.

This kingdom was to be a time when Rudometkin would be a ruler for a thousand years. Rudometkin writes of himself, saying, "The King of Kings and Lord of Lords ... would set me (Rudometkin), your anointed, in Christ's stead as your king upon the earth for, a thousand years and also enthrone all my people (followers)"(S&L, book 11:16:1-15). In other words, Rudometkin and his followers were to be the principal rulers for a thousand years. In, 1860, it turned out that instead of beginning his Millennium rulership as predicted, Rudometkin, began his sentence in Solvetski Monastery.

This is where a major misunderstanding exists between Rudometkin and his present day followers. What Rudometkin really meant, believed, and prophesied was that he was to be a king and ruler in a Millennium that was to have been manifested at that time and place in 1857-1860 (nineteenth century), not in some distant future, as present-day Maximisti have come to believe.

When the time came for the fulfillment of Rudometkin's first predicted start of the Millennium in 1857, the event was awaited with a great expectation. Rudometkin, expecting it to materialize at any moment, prepared himself for the event by crowning himself as a king on October 19, 1857, before a large gathering in the village of Nikitino, where he lived(3). King Rudometkin was ready. His only problem was that heaven was not cooperating. Rudometkin gives, us his own account of that crowning, writing, "You do remember when it was before a large gathering with out-stretched prophetic hands and signs (banners) over my head that proclaimed me (Rudometkin) as a king of all the Universe"(S&L, book 4:4:2). To further show that Rudometkin was indeed a king, he wore two red letters, the letter "Ц" (tse) on the right shoulder and "Д" (deh) on the left shoulder, which represented: "King of Spirits" (Цар Духов: Tsar Duhov).

During this time, Rudometkin's followers believed him wholeheartily and awaited for the Millennial kingdom to start at any moment. This was to be a great time, when all of Rudometkin's followers were to become Lords, and the ungodly were to be their servants(4).

Rudometkin selected the village of Nikitino, were he lived, as the actual place for the Millennial kingdom to be established. The village of Nikitino was also in close proximity to Mt. Ararat. It was where "chosen people from everywhere will gather .... at the foot of holy mountain called Ugvagir"(S&L, book 10:30:24-25). Ugvagir is a name for a location, either in another language or in a code. In another passage, Rudometkin identifies Ugvagir as the village of Nikitino(S&L, book 13:1:4-5).

The strong dream of a Millennium persisted even after Rudometkin's imprisonment. As a king without a kingdom he, "prayed every day for God to exalt him ... and to be enthroned as a ruler among the princes .... and to give him a throne of glory in Israel"(S&L, book 14:16:1-14).

Even though Rudometkin's initial predictions were not fulfilled, he was not discouraged from making further predictions. It seems that he was so determined to be a kingdom ruler, that he continued to predict that the Millennium will occur in the nineteenth century(S&L, book 6:14:1-12). The nineteenth century has been gone for over 90 years now, and yet none of these- events have come to pass. So much for those predictions. As a prophet, Rudometkin was a failure, to say the least. These revelations, according to Rudometkin's own writing, were inspired by a "New Spirit"(S&L, book 10:5:4).

Before his arrest, Rudometkin preached long and eloquent at their church meetings. He taught them that it was not necessary to respect authority or to be concerned with normal daily activities. "The time has now come", he said, "to live like birds and refrain from work"(5). Because of such preaching, apathy set in towards work and household management, resulting in his followers being reduced to the poorest state of existence(6). The local authorities became greatly concerned not only for the plight of Rudometkin's followers, but also for the general population of the area.

Further adding to the plight of his followers, Rudometkin preached that they should have two young spiritual wives in order to be accepted into the Millennium(7). Authorities discovered that some of Rudometkin's followers practiced polygamy, which resulted in the breakdown of the family lifestyle(8).

[For more about Molokans and polygamy see: Russian Mormons, by James Scott.]

According to N. Dingilshted, Rudometkin chased his own wife out of his house and lived with two young women named Varvara and Stepanida, who were his Spiritual,wives. They were also known as queens(7). According to N. Dingilshted their full names were Stepanida Kartashova and Varvara Manuseva(9). It was probably for that reason that we do not find Rudometkin mentioning his wife in his writings (S&L, 1928 Russian Ed). However, we do find Rudometkin sending greetings to his beloved queens, "Though absent, I kiss you upon the lips with the most warmest kiss of sweetest love"(S&L, book 4:11:27). Rudometkin's Queen Stenya and Queen Varya are mentioned in the book Spirit and Life by name. As if they were the (tribulation) prophets of Revelation(Rev. 11.3), Rudometkin asked his followers to believe and obey them, so as to avoid the hardship of the three and one-half year tribulation(S&L, p. 694, 1928, Russian Ed).

The requirement of two young spiritual wives no doubt contributed to the growth of Rudometkin's followers and to the rise of his popularity. After his arrest, Rudometkin wrote to his followers (of that day), and made an even more dramatic and unbeatable revelation by writing, "Virgins from all nations will be given to us" (to Rudometkin and his followers) "As gifts forever ... to repopulate the destroyed races" (ethnic groups)(S&L, book 7:13:6). I very much doubt anybody could beat that offer. This was to become the "Paradise of paradises, the village of saints"(S&L, book 13:1:5). I wonder if it is not a vision of such gifts that keeps today's Maximisti so dedicated to Rudometkin. According to Rudometkin, the woman's occupation in this paradise will be to enjoy the blissfulness of "child bearing"(S&L, book 3:11:16).

Due to Rudometkin's so called new revelations before his arrest, the "Pryguni" lifestyle evolved to such an extreme that the governor was concerned that they would influence the other indigenous groups of that area. To stop this potential threat, Rudometkin was arrested. His arrest was not for any religious activity or for his true inner faith, but rather for promoting polygamy. Government documents revealed that the local authorities acknowledged that Rudometkin was a very clever man who took advantage of the ignorance and weakness of his followers. As for himself, Rudometkin saw his imprisonment as a persecution, and the reason for his persecution he described as, "Persecute me for knowing and revealing the start of my new peaceful millennial kingdom upon this earth"(S&L, book 14:20:10). In other words, he believed that he was arrested because of his revelations and prophecies.

The event that ultimately led to Rudometkin's arrest was that ten months after crowning himself as king on Oct. 19, 1857, he desired to further affirm himself as the Millennial king, as a new "Moses" of today(S&L, book 9:19-1). Rudometkin desired to erect a large pole, decorated with banners, in the courtyard of his home. This pole was to be in like manner to the brass sign that Moses erected in the wilderness. As the Jewish people received healing and comfort from the brass sign in the wilderness(Numbers 21-8-9), Rudometkin's followers were to receive the same(10). Stitched on these banners were writings regarding the start of Rudometkin's millennial kingdom. Rudometkin planned to erect this pole on August 25, 1858. August 25th was approximately the time when the festivals such as Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles were celebrated(Leviticus 23:23-36). Since the Feast of Tabernacles (Kushcha) symbolized a future Millennium, this festive seasonal atmosphere was to serve Rudometkin as an added opportunity in his quest towards a further affirmation of himself as a millennial ruler.

The scheduled erection of his pole was postponed when Rudometkin learned that Grand Duke Mihail and Grand Duke Nikolai would soon be traveling nearby. Rudometkin then decided to reveal the royal authority of his kingly greatness to the local authorities by erecting the pole along the route to be traveled by the Dukes. The local authorities discovered Rudometkin's plans and confiscated the large pole on the evening before the arrival of the royal Dukes(10). Not to be defeated, Pudometkin and his followers hastily prepared a smaller pole with banners and erected it on the route of the noble travelers(11). According to some verbal accounts that I heard from some elders, Rudometkin was asked by some of the elders of his day not to erect his pole. Nevertheless, he went ahead and erected his pole. By such a provoking act, he showed himself to be challenger to their authority. This provocation, in part, led to the arrest of the newly crowned, King Rudometkin.

During Rudometkin's imprisonment, he believed a day would soon come when he would be released and allowed to return to his followers(S&L, book 10:24:2). Once again, he would raise up the same banners as before. During his imprisonment, Rudometkin's drawings and descriptions of the pole and banners(S&L, p 261, Russian 1928 Ed) fit the description and meaning given by N. Dingilshted(10). Rudometkin wrote that this banner will be erected in the New City of Jerusalem (village of Nikitino) "in the courtyard of the Anointed King of Spirits" (Rudometkin's place of residence). Furthermore, he wrote, "My salvation shall be established like this pillar (see pillar drawing) ... Then shall be healing to my chosen ones"(S&L, book 3:25:1-9). And he also wrote, "First of all, I (Rudometkin) will dress myself in scarlet garments with a title gloriously embroidered on my clothing. Then I myself will put a crown of gold upon my head ... equally all my followers will be dressed in white garments"(S&L, book 6:17:12-13).

What troubled Rudometkin was that soon after his arrest, his followers abandoned Rudometkin as their king and chose for themselves another king. First, they chose a forty year old man from the village of Elenovka, named Ivli Minnikov. Minnikov reigned for just three days before dying. He was buried with a ribbon across his shoulder and blue paper stars on his chest. The next king was Gavreil Valov, from the village of Konstantino. He became unpopular for trying to institute a collection of one-tenth of everyone's income. After a short reign of only six months, his followers abandoned him(12). There were also other kings that reigned besides Minnikov and Valov.

Rudometkin's replacement by these other kings caused him to anger greatly. In letters to his former followers, he tried to convince them that he was their one and only principal leader. He strongly chastised his trusted prophets, Emilian and Fitis, for allowing someone else to reign in his stead. In his own words he wrote, "I see the incarnate devil, in my absences has begun to reign"(S&L, book 13:9:1-4). At one time, Lukian Petrovich Sokolov (also known as Borisov(S&L, p 64) was also a successor king to Rudometkin. In one of the letters to his followers, Rudometkin strongly denounced Sokolov (Borisov) as a "False King.... and a hater of a true spirit"(S&L, p 631).

It was out of his concern of being replaced by these other kings that Rudometkin wrote so many letters, trying hard to convince them that he truly was their king. Rudometkin wrote that he was going to put up his banners and crown himself as king once more, with offerings of young maidens as incentive to prospective followers. These things worked for him in the past, before. his imprisonment, and once again he wanted to do it all over again when he returned from prison. However, it does appear that his former followers did lose interest in Rudometkin as their king, for which Rudometkin wrote from prison, "You have quickly forgotten me"(S&L, book 13:1:2).

Today's Maximisti misinterpreted and misunderstood Rudometkin. Today, they believe that he would return from heaven and do these things at some Line in the future. On the contrary, what Rudometkin really meant was that as soon as he would return from prison, he would reinstate himself to his former position as king in the village of Nikitino, in his lifetime, and before his death(S&L, book 10:24:2). Rudometkin did not live long enough to see his desire and ambition fulfilled, for he died in the Suzdal Monastery prison on the 13th of May, 1877, of an apoplectic stroke, and was buried in an unmarked grave outside the monastery walls(13).

In conclusion, the authorities decided to arrest Rudometkin for the following reasons:

1. Rudometkin was leading his followers into deception (error of faith).
2. Rudometkin showed no respect for authorities.
3. Rudometkin preached and allowed polygamy, and polygamy was against the law. Husbands were leaving their wives for young spiritual wives, while the old wives and children had to face hardships, with no means of support.
4. Rudometkin's prophecies regarding the imminent end of the world created apathy in his followers towards their livelihood and reduced them to a very sad site of existence.
5. The authorities feared that neighboring ethnic groups would also follow into this polygamy practice and create further disintegration of families.

On October 25, 1858, a petition was prepared to transport Rudometkin to Solovetsky Monastery for confinement. That petition was granted two months later on December 25th(8). Rudometkin's imprisonment was decided in Tiflis, in his absence(S&L, book 3:2:8-9). Although Rudometkin claimed in his writings that he knew about future events in heaven and on earth, and the times that these events will be fulfilled(S&L, book 11:5:6), and though he claimed to "always personally talk to God", yet he did not know how long his prison sentence was to be. For this, he asked his followers to find out for him(S&L, book 3:2:8-9).

After Rudometkin's arrest, the government surveyed the Pryguni villages in 1866 and found, for the most part, that they had stopped waiting for the end of the world and that their lives had returned to a normal state of tranquility(14).

According to the teachings of the Bible, when a prophecy does not come to pass, that prophet should be rejected: "That same prophet shall die ... You need not be afraid of him"(Deut. 18:20-22) . The Bible also speaks about "Other Gods". Rudometkin claimed himself to be a God when he wrote, "That is why 1, Maxim, called with his new name 'King of Spirits' and 'God' to the believers of the world"(S&L, book 9:15:7). Now according to the Bible, if any prophet leads us to another God, he should not be listened to: "Thou shalt surely kill him... Lord your God proveth you" (testing you)(Deut. 13:1-11).

Now I would like to ask all of our brotherhood, how well did we pass such a test? Instead of rejecting Rudometkin as a false prophet and a false God as the Bible commands us to do, he has been turned into the greatest hero who ever lived, the greatest prophet who ever walked this planet, a "new messiah", and a "great martyr". There is no such thing as being a "martyr", for one who is a "false messiah", or "false prophet" or "false God" or for one who has "introduced extra-marital activity". Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Maximisti have been promoting Rudometkin with misinformation, while the real truth about Rudometkin was not told to our brotherhood.

What happened to us? What happened to our rationale? We have lowered ourselves to the point where some of these Bible teachings are totally ignored. We have instead gone to just opposite of its teachings. God gave guidelines for our benefit, to guard us against such a person as Rudometkin, but we have lowered ourselves totally, ignoring these Bible teachings. By such action, we opened ourselves up to certain dangers and many problems.

We need to take responsibility and to act accordingly. The responsibility lies with each individual. In church, every time, you participate in anything having to do with Rudometkin and his writings, such as reading from it, calling words from it (skazvit), singing from it, helping to sing from it, or singing songs from the song book that are written about Rudometkin, you are helping to perpetuate the falseness of Pudometkin. In other words, you are fertilizing and watering Rudometkin's and the Maximistils heresy. That is how misinformation has been wrongfully instilled into the minds and hearts of our brotherhood. By not participating in such activity, you will be helping to correct this wrong. Rudometkin misled people in his day and unbelievably, with the help of his current day followers, he is still misleading people from his grave. That is not what our original forefathers wanted. It was Rudometkin and his followers who have created problems and introduced confusion with their "new revelations" by Rudometkin's so called "new spirit".

Do not look for somebody great to stand up to this wrong, but rather look to your own consciences and ask yourself what you are doing? What are you supporting and promoting? You personally do make a difference. This is not one person's task, but it is everybody's responsibility. Many references have been given in the article. Please examine them yourself and study this matter carefully and seriously. Do not follow anyone blindly, but think for yourself. Facts have been brought before you to help you make an intelligent and informed decision. Make a conscious, responsible, and accountable decision and act accordingly. Brothers and sisters, we can put M. G. Rudometkin behind us, but it is really up to you. It is in your hands.

Reference Bibliography

1. Melnikov P.I. Na Gorakh, Book II (Reprint 1956), P 318.
2. Dingilshted N., Zakavkazkie Sectanti, 1885, pp 15, 66.
3. Otechestvannai Zapiski, No 11, 1878, p 35.
4. Dingilshted, p. 15.
5. Dingilshted, p. 62.
6. Otechestvannai Zapiski, No 10, 1878, p 401.
7. Dingilshted, p. 66.
8. Otechestvannai Zapiski, No 11, 1878, p 38-40.
9. Dingilshted, p. 61.
10. Otechestvannai Zapiski, No 11, 1878, pp 35-38.
11. Dingilshted, pp. 70-71.
12. Dingilshted, pp. 77-78, 147, 244.
13. Prugavin, A.C., Monasttirkiya Turmi, 1905, pp 17, 57.
14. Dingilshted, pp. 86-88.

Please post comments on the 
Molokan Forum-Yahoo!, or Molokan Forum-MSN.

Back to Molokan NEWS