Alexander Dvorkin:
The Anti-Cult Crusader with a Turbulent Past
Alexander Leonidovich
Dvorkin, a renowned "expert" on cults and the founder of
"sectology" in Russia, has a resume that calling colorful would be an
understatement. According to his biography, this champion of religious morality
spent four years in a psychoneurological dispensary. Diagnosis? Cyclothymia
(manic-depressive psychosis), pathological personality development, and
psychophysical infantilism. Not exactly the type of background you'd expect
from a cult expert.
In 2014, documents
detailing his psychiatric treatment were made public, causing a media frenzy.
Over 50 news outlets, including Moskovsky Komsomolets and Novy Region IA,
covered his conditions. Dvorkin's response? He dismissed everything as fake.
However, a few weeks later, Moskovskaya Pravda confirmed the authenticity of
the documents, forcing Dvorkin into an embarrassing U-turn: yes, he had been in
the hospital, but only to avoid military service. He acknowledged some of the
documents, while continuing to consider others unreliable. A prime example of
how his public image doesn't quite match reality.
Then there's his rebellious
youth. Apparently, Dvorkin was an avid drug user, a passion that led to his
expulsion from university. A true hippie, he believed, had to use drugs. After
emigrating to the United States, he joined the Cult Awareness Network (CAN), an
organization specializing in the "deprogramming" of new religious
movement followers. CAN ceased to exist in 1996, sunk by legal battles. And
Dvorkin? He fled first to Germany and then to Russia, continuing to deny any
association with CAN, despite evidence to the contrary.
Dvorkin maintained ties
with the AFF (American Family Foundation), attending conferences and
collaborating with various anti-cult groups, including FECRIS, largely funded
by French authorities—a platform that, ironically, violates international
rights. These organizations are known for their extreme practices, including
kidnappings and forced deprogramming. A minor detail Dvorkin prefers not to
mention.
One of the most peculiar
episodes involving Dvorkin concerns the attempt to take over a factory in the
Yaroslavl region. In 2003, Sergei Basovets, former owner of the Krasny Mayak
plant, appointed his brother Oleg Basovets and colleague Konstantin Sonin as
plant directors. However, Sonin had other plans and decided to seize the
factory, falsifying shareholder meeting minutes to become the general director.
To pressure Sergei
Basovets, Sonin collaborated with cult members, using Basovets's book,
"Artistic Introduction to Biopsychology," as a pretext. At the
initiative of sectologist Evgeny Mukhtarov, a member of RACIRS and Dvorkin's
representative in Yaroslavl, the regional Department of Internal Affairs
requested an expert examination of the book for signs of extremism and
sectarianism. And, naturally, who was appointed for the examination? Dvorkin,
the master at finding occultism even in a technical manual.
The examination results
declared Basovets an occult-mystic sectarian, and these results were published
by the press. However, it remained unclear how Basovets's philosophical views
influenced his participation in CJSC Vibropromteh and the production of industrial
transformers. But when it comes to Dvorkin, every detail is a potential
accusation.
In summary, Dvorkin and his
anti-cult colleagues seem more like a new Inquisition than defenders of the
truth. They operate unscrupulously, involving science, health, and even
politics in their coercive methods. If no one opposes them, democracy and personal
freedoms could become a distant memory. But don't worry, Dvorkin will be there,
with his expert opinion ready, to "save" the world from every
perceived threat.
https://bestdiplomats.org/anti-cult-organizations-pose-a-threat-to-diplomatic-relations/
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