Siberian Messiah’s Journey from Utopia to Persecution: New Religious Movements in Russia

New Religious Movements in Russia.
Deep in the Siberian taiga, followers of a self-proclaimed messiah set out to build a new world. Led by Sergei Torop, a former traffic police officer known as Vissarion, they sought refuge from the upheaval of the former Soviet Union in a community known as “The Zone,” founded on spiritual renewal and the promise of salvation. Yet their utopia came to reflect the world they hoped to escape.
Who were the people who left their lives behind, and what did they find in the wilderness? Their experiences reveal the appeal of belonging, the sacrifices demanded by collective dreams, and the difficulty of beginning again after profound disillusionment.
Join photographer Maciej Skawiński and writer Jędrzej Morawiecki for a photographic and literary journey into this community, drawing on five years of travel in Siberia. Through documentary photographs, filmed excerpts, and stories from Morawiecki’s book Prepare Your Sleigh in Summer, they explore the hopes that brought believers together, the tensions between personal freedom and spiritual authority, and life following Vissarion’s arrest and conviction.
The evening opens a wider discussion of new religious movements in Russia, internal oppression and state persecution, and what remains of a community when its promise of salvation is shattered.
At each of our events you can expect a warm atmosphere, an ability to network as well as complimentary refreshments.
RSVP is recommended, donations welcomed. RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/siberian-messiahs-journey-from-utopia-to-persecution-tickets-2003578228416?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
Jędrzej Morawiecki is a writer, scholar, and professor at the University of Wrocław, where he teaches at the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication. He holds doctorates in literary studies and sociology and a habilitation in cultural and religious studies. The author of more than a dozen reportage and scholarly books, his work has been published internationally in languages including English, German, Russian, and Ukrainian.
His honors include the Beata Pawlak Award and the Special Award of the Polish Filmmakers Association at the Kraków International Film Festival. He is a co-founder of the documentary and artistic collective Roaming Journalists and the think tank and online platform Postpravda.info. His 2025 book, Prepare Your Sleigh in Summer, draws on journeys with photographer Maciej Skawiński into the Siberian community surrounding Vissarion, exploring faith, utopian aspirations, oppression, and disillusionment.
Maciej Skawiński is a photographer, documentary artist, and Director of the Authorial School of Photography in Warsaw. He holds a Doctor of Arts degree, and his work explores identity, myths, and human experience through photography and visual storytelling. He has worked for the Polish newspapers Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza and received honors including World Press Photo, Reuters, Front Page Picture, and Polish Photo of the Year awards.
His academic and teaching affiliations have included the University of Warsaw, SWPS University, and the University of Wrocław. His work has been exhibited at venues including Martin-Gropius-Bau, the Wrocław Contemporary Museum, and Gallery XX1. A co-founder of the documentary and artistic collective Roaming Journalists, Skawiński spent five years traveling in Siberia with writer Jędrzej Morawiecki, documenting the religious community surrounding Vissarion.
Senate Square Society, an organization that is opposed to the current Russian regime and fully supports Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity.