Orthodox activists have stormed Moscow's Darwin Museum, tossing leaflets with creationist slogans into the lobby and planting a "God Created the World!" flag on the roof.
The event, organized by the God's Will movement, was held on Sunday to mark the passing of 7,522 years since the creation of the world. According to the group's official website, the movement seeks "to fulfill the commandments of Christ through civil activism."
One participant, Dmitry Tsorionov, said of the event on Twitter: "Checkmate, atheists! 7,522 summers from the creation of the world, creationists have seized the Darwin Museum!"
In a video posted on YouTube, activists can be seen in large groups singing hymns, wearing T-shirts denouncing the theory of evolution and proclaiming creationism, and throwing papers with religious slogans into the lobby — one of which read, "God created cats."
Witnesses later reported that the activists picked up all the leaflets after themselves and even snatched them back from museum workers who had gathered them. None of the activists were detained. A police spokesman on Monday declined to comment.
This is not the first such occupation-style protest by Orthodox activists. They have made a name for themselves in recent months by raiding various venues that they consider blasphemous. Last August, the director of Moscow's Museum of Erotic Art reported that "Orthodox militants" barged into the museum holding a brick and a Bible.
Just days before that, an event in support of Pussy Riot at Teatr.doc was disrupted by Orthodox activists who stormed in with a television crew filming as they denounced the theater event.
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