Authorities Halt Disturbing Live Burial Ceremony in Leningrad Region Forests

Authorities in the northwestern Leningrad region have intervened to halt a live burial ceremony taking place in the forest, leading to the exhumation of participants who had been buried alive, according to a report from state media on Thursday.

«During a routine inspection, officers discovered two individuals wrapped in rags and placed in graves,» a source relayed to the state-run TASS news agency. «Law enforcement demanded that the organizers dig up those who were buried alive to ensure their well-being.»

A video shared by TASS depicted police arriving at the campsite and instructing an individual wearing blue robes to excavate at least two people, who appeared to be fully enveloped in cloth and lying in a shallow pit.

As reported by the news outlet, 15 individuals took part in the ceremony, in which one person is symbolically buried alive as a means of spiritual or psychological transformation. Participants are typically covered with earth while lying in a shallow grave to mimic actual burial.

The event’s organizers, a man and a woman, were subsequently arrested. TASS noted that they may be charged with running an organization that violates citizens’ rights, a charge that could result in a maximum prison sentence of seven years.