Moscow, Russia (AHN) -- Twenty-nine cult members, including three children and an 18 month-old baby, are in grave danger and "any wrong move" by authorities could cost lives, Alexander Dvorkin of the Center of Religious Studies said Friday, adding, "their minds are being manipulated, they are under the strong influence of their leader."

"I've met the man, and he's definitely mentally sick, big time," regional administration spokesman Yevgeny Guseynov told CNN about Father Pyotr Kuznetsov, 43, the alleged cult leader.

Kuznetsov, 43, a trained engineer who comes from a deeply religious family, declared himself a prophet several years ago.

He did not let his followers watch television, listen to the radio or handle money, telling them that, in the afterlife, they would be judging whether others deserved heaven or hell.

Anna Vabishchevich said her 41-year-old son, Alexander, and his wife and two teenage daughters were among the cult members.

"My son was kind and now he is mentally ill, it's like he is hypnotized," she told The Associated Press between sobs, adding he stopped eating food packaged with the universal product code which the cult regards as the mark of the Antichrist.

There are about 10 similar cults in Russia, most nominally Christian and with members living in isolation, Dvorkin told Fox News.

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