The raids took place after a similar operation in Montenegro that resulted in the deportation of 44 suspected cult members to Russia.A criminal case was instigated but all of those detained were released after questioning.In 2012 President Vladimir Putin urged the Russian government to step up the effort to fight against the “mushrooming” totalitarian cults, which he described as a threat to Russian society. Aum Shinrikyo: Sarin gas attack. The New York Times reported how the group had tried to carry out at least nine other attacks in the years leading up to the Tokyo attacks.Asahara's successor Fumihiro Joyu was the head of the group's Moscow operation. Backgrounder by Holly Fletcher. Police in Russia have raided 25 homes and shrines in Moscow and St Petersburg and arrested people linked to the notorious Aum Shinrikyo cult. Aum Shinrikyo first arrived in Russia together with perestroika in the late 1980s. This involved Aum Shinrikyo taking over a Russian TV channel, and acquiring military vehicles and arms from the disintegrating Soviet Red Army. However, as the Dalai Lama also believes that he possesses similar (imagined) powers, a friendship grew between the two spiritual leaders, both of whom actively sought political gain from their religious beliefs.
Just as the Dalai Lama has stated numerous times that his intention is to bring-down the sovereign government of China, Shoko Asahara pursued nothing less than world domination through committing endless atrocities which he saw as incidents of ‘purification’. It gained official status as a religious organization in 1989 and attracted a considerable number of graduates from Japan's elite universities, thus being dubbed a "religion for the elite". You have to spread real Buddhism in your homeland, you are the most suitable person to do this, because you understand the idea of being a Buddha. In this letter, addressed to the competent authorities of Tokyo, the Dalai Lama called Shoko Asahara ‘a very capable spiritual mentor’ and defined the sect ‘Aum Shinrikyo’ as ‘a legitimate distributor of Mahayana Buddhism and a sect that can push the public toward kindness.’ The Dalai Lama in the letter even asked the relevant Tokyo authorities ‘to release the Aum Shinrikyo sect from taxation.’ This is not surprising, as Shoko Asahara had made a number of visits to India, and each time had met with the Dalai Lama. The authorities have moved to outlaw the group, best known for the deadly chemical attacks in the Tokyo subway in 1995.
As the world was about to end, Shoko Asahara taught that people must be physically and psychologically ‘punished’ as a means to achieve spiritual emancipation. 22:51 GMT, Sep 01, 2020 When Russian groups (and individuals) complained, the 14th Dalai Lama joined with Western governments in condemning these complaints as ‘religious intolerance’.This all changed on May 20th, 1995, when Aum Shinrikyo successfully carried-out its terrorist Tokyo Subway sarin gas attack. Macron to Lebanon's Leaders: Make Changes in 3 Months or Face SanctionsCzech Senate Leader Declares 'I Am a Taiwanese' in Speech to Self-Ruled Island's ParliamentCharlie Hebdo Re-Runs Prophet Mohammad Cartoons to Mark Attack Trial However, after Its founder is Chizuo Matsumoto, who was born in 1955 into an impoverished family in the south of Japan.
His aim was to shift the group's violent history to a more spiritual base and he changed the name Aleph.
The Russian branch of Aum Shinrikyo was liquidated by a Moscow court back in 1995, but until now the group was not recognized as a terrorist organization and was allowed, in theory at least, to preach its message. In 2007, about 30 members of the group holed up in a cave in Russia's Penza region. File photo. During one particular meeting, the Dalai Lama told Shoko Asahara the following: ‘Dear friend, Buddhism in Japan has fallen into decay, if this continues, Buddhism will disappear from the land of Japan. Aum Shinrikyo signaled the emergence of a new global trend in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism. The group gained infamy when it launched a deadly sarin nerve gas attack on the subway in the Japanese capital Tokyo, which killed 13 people and left thousands suffering from its debilitating consequences.The cult's leader Shoko Asahara along with 12 of his followers got death sentences and it was thought to have gone to ground. The speculation is that many naïve Russians walked blindly into the embrace of Shoko Asahara – and paid dearly for their abandonment of Socialism. This was a profound shock to the Russian people that had lost all State protection against exploitative religious cults such as Aum Shinrikyo. This policy essentially disabled the spark of Soviet scientific genius that had dominated the 20th century, and re-imported the previously banished ‘inverted’ mind-set of the bourgeoisie.