An translated excerpt from the Russian-language magazine Rus Fortean. This was published in 1990, and every copy of this issue was immediately bought for a large sum by the Russian Orthodox Church.
" Where did they go? "
People have asked this question for close to three decades about the fate of the people of the rural village of Khrista (lit Christ) . One day, in the middle of April of '86, the entire adult population just up and walked into the forest, leaving their children under the age of 18 alone. Though the older children, and later, the VDV's finest recon experts both searched the area extensively, they could find no trace of the people of the village.
The village on the Siberian border is no stranger to odd occurrences - it's existence is one. It was founded in 1886 by the members of the unique spiritualist sect of the Bogmeykera. These people believed, by living a life of hard work close to nature and observing daily rituals, they would join the heavenly host. Considered heretical by Eastern Orthodox Christians, they and the village were shunned.
During the Great Patriotic War, Bogmeykera was home to "Iconograd", a measure by the NKVD to counter German propaganda casting doubt on the good of the worker's revolution for the Eastern Orthodox faithful. Here, hundreds of icons depicting Jesus holding a sickle and hammer amidst a forest scene were carved from wood and beautifully ornamented. However, priests who received them considered them cursed and had them sent back - citing the malignant aura they felt from each.
During the early stages of the Cold War, Iconograd was converted to a conventional factory for the production of missile parts. During this time, soldiers from outside the village would often report seeing "orbs of heavenly light" streaking across the skies above Khrista. Some, coming from devoutly Orthodox backgrounds, immediately applied for reassignment.
And, one day in 1986, every adult in the village walked into the snow-covered forest outside and disappeared forever. Their younger children were either sent to orphanages, given to foster families, or adopted by the VDV soldiers who had searched for their parents. The older ones set out into the world, seeking their destiny.
We visited one of the surviving older children, Sergei Les, and questioned as to what he thought happened to his parents. He merely gave a long and hearty laugh before giving his cryptic answer.
"I think, that maybe, they finally went to meet God. Which God? That's for you to decide. "
" Where did they go? "
People have asked this question for close to three decades about the fate of the people of the rural village of Khrista (lit Christ) . One day, in the middle of April of '86, the entire adult population just up and walked into the forest, leaving their children under the age of 18 alone. Though the older children, and later, the VDV's finest recon experts both searched the area extensively, they could find no trace of the people of the village.
The village on the Siberian border is no stranger to odd occurrences - it's existence is one. It was founded in 1886 by the members of the unique spiritualist sect of the Bogmeykera. These people believed, by living a life of hard work close to nature and observing daily rituals, they would join the heavenly host. Considered heretical by Eastern Orthodox Christians, they and the village were shunned.
During the Great Patriotic War, Bogmeykera was home to "Iconograd", a measure by the NKVD to counter German propaganda casting doubt on the good of the worker's revolution for the Eastern Orthodox faithful. Here, hundreds of icons depicting Jesus holding a sickle and hammer amidst a forest scene were carved from wood and beautifully ornamented. However, priests who received them considered them cursed and had them sent back - citing the malignant aura they felt from each.
During the early stages of the Cold War, Iconograd was converted to a conventional factory for the production of missile parts. During this time, soldiers from outside the village would often report seeing "orbs of heavenly light" streaking across the skies above Khrista. Some, coming from devoutly Orthodox backgrounds, immediately applied for reassignment.
And, one day in 1986, every adult in the village walked into the snow-covered forest outside and disappeared forever. Their younger children were either sent to orphanages, given to foster families, or adopted by the VDV soldiers who had searched for their parents. The older ones set out into the world, seeking their destiny.
We visited one of the surviving older children, Sergei Les, and questioned as to what he thought happened to his parents. He merely gave a long and hearty laugh before giving his cryptic answer.
"I think, that maybe, they finally went to meet God. Which God? That's for you to decide. "
