Apological commentary in the internet discourse of the “Tsar-schemetropolitan Zosimas”

The article analyzes the apologetic strategies implemented by the adherents of the “schemetropolitan-tsar Zosimas” under whose name the impostor adventurer Leonid Vlasov is hiding. The sect of the adherents of the “schemetropolitantsar Zosimas” is currently actively engaged in propaganda on the Internet, the number of adherents is within ten thousand, but judging by the number of views, a much larger number of people are demonstrating interest in it. The article analyzes the main strategies for protecting the personality and claims of the “schemetropolitan-tsar Zosimas”, which are implemented by his adepts. These include: invective, imperative, vocativecooperative and ascertaining strategies. The implementation of these strategies pursues not only the goals of promoting Zosimas and defending the legitimacy of his claims, but also of creating a positive image of adherents, opposing them to the critics of the sect.