A group of Russian special forces has emerged from a month-long training camp in the Siberian wilderness, led by members of a staunchly traditionalist religious sect.

The unusual military training experiment was directed by representatives from a community of Old Believers, a group that split from the main Orthodox Church in the late 17th century.

Leading a secluded life in the Siberian wilderness and rejecting almost all modern conveniences, members of the sect reportedly taught the elite servicemen how to find their bearings and feed themselves in the remote mountainous taiga.

The task of foraging food in the sparse landscape was further complicated by some of the Old Believers’ traditions.



“They do not eat game with legs, such as hares or bears, but do eat the meat of cloven-hoofed animals. Forest birds and fish are also allowed, as are nuts and berries,” the press service of the Central Military District said.

Each serviceman taking part in the course was given a gun and five cartridges in the event they came across a bear.

The final five-day leg of the training course took the men through treacherous terrain along the Maly Yenisey river in the Republic of Tuva, a Russian region bordering Mongolia.

The unusual joint mission between the military and the Old Believers was prompted by a need to improve the servicemen’s survival skills in challenging terrain.

“During training, we came across the problem that our instructors do not have sufficient survival skills in mountainous taiga. To improve combat training, we have for the first time recruited Old Believers as instructors,” the Central Military District commander, General-Lieutenant Vladimir Zarudnitsky, was quoted as saying by Russian media.

Although the military commanders concluded that the experiment had been a success, representatives of the Central Military District have not yet disclosed whether this form of training will become part of the standard programme.

Estimates place the total number of Old Believers remaining today at from 1 to 2 million, with many living in extremely isolated communities to which they fled centuries ago to avoid persecution.

A version of this article first appeared on Russia Behind the Headlines