The interior ministry has set up a special department to
investigate the activity of Satanist sects, announced Alexander Grichanin,
deputy head of the Chief Criminal Investigation Department of the Russian
interior ministry.
In his words, the interior ministry is seriously worried by the deeds of
Satanists, whose ritual sacrifices often involve murder or serious disabling.
The ministry says there are several thousand members of various Satanist sects
in Russia, of which 500 are based in Moscow, 500 in St. Petersburg, and about
100 more in the country's large regional centers. Unfortunately, Grichanin
said, members of Satanist sects are often teenagers aged between 13 and 17, who
feel attracted to the rituals and ideas advocated by the Satanists.