The Podpolniki sect, which arose in the nineteenth century in the Saratov district, recognised only the pre-Nikonian church and came out rather categorically against the everyday manifestations of secular life: proposing not to attend schools and reading

The sect of the Podpolniki ("Undergrounders"), which arose in the nineteenth century in the Saratov district, recognised only the pre-Nikonian church and came out rather categorically against the everyday manifestations of secular life: it proposed not to attend schools and reading huts but instead to live in cells, and not to take part in civil registration, that is, not to obtain passports or civil status certificates from the registry offices (ZAGS). In the 1920s the sect's appeals greatly troubled the Soviet authorities as a form of harmful activity, and criminal cases began to be opened against the Podpolniki. Strange as it may seem, some of them were entirely fabricated.

One such case states: "Under the guise of performing religious and mystical rites, dwelling in constant wandering and in the propagation of the word of God, the sect of the Podpolniki, uniting chiefly the well-to-do part of the peasantry, kulaks, former traders and dark criminal elements hiding underground from Soviet power, is in its political essence directed against the organs of Soviet power and the Party in the localities."

Let us note the phrase "under the guise of performing religious and mystical rites". Do you know what this is? It is an ingenious verbal device that removes all further proceedings from the protection of the laws on religious freedom. That is, the act itself (or misdemeanour), in this instance purely specialised religious practices and actions, receives in the case materials a new designation, founded on the rhetoric of anti-Soviet activity, and explaining that in reality the religious motives are merely a cover for a criminal intent against Soviet power.

The case goes on to state that one of the sect's members "spoke out against the peasants' participation in the loan", a most convenient fact for supplying it with the required assessment: supposedly this was how the intent to oppose the power of the soviets was carried out.

Even the mere organisation of the Old Believers' daily life is presented by the investigators as having a criminal meaning. For example, it is mentioned that the main labour is performed by girls, and this in itself runs counter to the Party's tasks, as do the sectarians' ordinary remarks about loans and other economic activity.

An aggravating circumstance in the case of the Podpolniki was the classification of their crime as committed by a group of persons. The investigator demonstrates this to the prosecutor and the OGPU by proving that within the group of Podpolniki one individual was responsible for buying tickets, that is, horror of horrors, he facilitated the movement of the criminal group, while another passed on letters, and thereby, such cynicism, facilitated correspondence among the members of the group.