Founded in 1990–1991 in Kyiv by
Yuri Krivonogov, a specialist in psychological influence,
cybernetics engineer and candidate of technical sciences, and journalist
Marina Tsvigun. Yuri Krivonogov initiated the movement in 1988, creating the "Institute of Man" and giving lectures on meditation and spiritual practices. He was previously involved in the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness but was expelled for claiming to be Krishna’s avatar. In 1990, he met Marina Tsvigun, who later became the group's figurehead, proclaimed as the "Living God Maria Devi Christos," while Krivonogov took the name Yoann Swami. In 1991, "The Great White Brotherhood YUSMALOS" was officially registered. Its members were called "Yusmalians". It functioned as a religious community with a strict hierarchy and discipline, Active missionary work took place in various regions of Ukraine, marked by members wearing white clothes. Communities were officially registered in Kyiv and
Cherkasy, and the movement later spread to Russia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. and also condemned in Russia. After his release from prison, Krivonogov recognized his actions related to the organization of the "Great White Brotherhood of Yusmalos" as wrong, broke off relations with the Yusmalians, and after his second marriage took the surname of his wife (Sylvestrov) She promoted the refusal of passports and group isolation from the rest of society. On July 19, 2013, by the decision of the
Egoryev Court of the Moscow Region, the literature of the "White Brotherhood" was recognized as
extremist and is subject to inclusion in the
Federal List of Extremist Materials. On the basis of an examination conducted by the Russian Institute of Cultural Studies, the court found that the literature of the "White Brotherhood" contains
chauvinistic statements and calls for religious
enmity. == Later analysis ==