Putin is saint and saviour for Russian cult

[Viking 1]

Source: Reuters

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cultivates the image of a bare-chested macho man, but a nun-like sect in central Russia thinks actually he's the reincarnation of St. Paul, the apostle.

Or, if not that, he may in a past life have been the founder of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"I say what the Lord has revealed to me," the sect's leader, former convict Svetlana Frolova, said.

Putin's advisers disclaim any link with the sect led by the former railway manager, who was jailed for fraud in 1996.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/25/us-russia-cult-putin-idUSTRE74O52E20110525

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I smell a Rapture prediction coming, don't you?

[Silent3]

1. Hey, Russia still has plenty of nukes

Enough with these wishy-washy End Times cults who merely predict the end of the world then sit back and wait for God to do all of the hard work.

It might not involve select Christians bodily ascending into heaven, so it wouldn't be a proper Rapture as such, but if this Putin cult could get Putin himself to buy into their craziness, they've got a good chance at not only predicting the end of the world, but making it come true. That would be real End Times leadership!

[struggle4progress]

2. Based on the photos, I'd guess con artist Frolova has about ten followers

Some people enjoy being frauds. Frolova doesn't seem to be very good at it, so I might not expect her little group to grow much

[sudopod]

Putifarians? nt

[sudopod]

Putifarians? nt

[sudopod]

3. T-T-TRIPLE POST nt

[onager]

4. He's competing with Saint Joe Stalin

Telegraph story from 2008, just Google "stalin sainthood" for lots more entertainment:

Headline: Could Josef Stalin be made a saint? - The Communist party in St Petersburg has petitioned the Orthodox Church to canonise Josef Stalin if he wins a television poll to nominate the greatest Russian in history...

Now this is interesting, considering the OP:

The wartime leader's resurgence owes much to the Kremlin, which under Mr Putin's presidency appeared to support a campaign to rehabilitate Stalin, with television documentaries, films and books released in recent years eulogising him.

A newly published history text book, approved by the Kremlin for use in all schools, glossed over the more unappealing parts of Stalin's rule and ultimately concluded that he was the Soviet Union's most successful leader...

Despite the church's reluctance, St Petersburg's Communists are convinced their vision will come to pass. They have already commissioned religious icons depicting Stalin with a halo round his head that have reportedly sold very well around the city.

"By the end of the 21st century, icons of St Josef Stalin will be in every Orthodox Church," Mr Malinkovich said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/2445683/Could-Josef-Stalin-be-made-a-saint.html