Captain’s Book: Harmonia’s Guide to Recruitment and Control
The editorial staff of 63.RU obtained an internal document from the scandalous training center Harmonia. It is the «Captain’s Book» — a 245-page guide for curators who managed participants. Alexander Neveyev, a candidate of psychological sciences and cult expert, after studying the document, states: before us is an instruction for creating a managed community, whose members, according to victims, worked for free to enrich its creators.
This finding puts an end to the story we investigated from early January. Let us remind you, dozens of Samara residents accused the center’s founder, Ella Prudnikova, of creating a financial pyramid. People told about humiliating tasks, psychological pressure, and million-ruble debts. The center has already been evicted for non-payment of rent, and a criminal case for fraud has been opened, though still against an «unidentified person.» The «Captain’s Book» sheds light on the system’s internal workings.
What is this document and why is it important?
The «Captain’s Book» is a manual for participants of the so-called «Leader Program» (LP). It was given to those appointed as «captains» — seniors in groups of newcomers. This is not a collection of inspirational quotes, but a step-by-step technical manual. It details procedures for managing people by the minute, recruiting new clients, and conducting «error correction.» Expert Alexander Neveyev, having reviewed the document, describes it as follows:
«The book mostly consists of statements related to popular psychology, that is, absolutely scientifically unfounded. It is like claims from some psychics about aura,» he said.
But the main thing, according to him, is not the content but the structure. In the expert’s opinion, everything described in the book served one purpose — control and management.
The «Call» System: Scheduled Control
The toughest mechanism described in the document is mandatory daily «captain’s calls.» Dozens of pages with detailed instructions are devoted to this.
When: Every day, strictly from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Length: Exactly 8 minutes per person.
Who calls: The student must call their captain.
If late: A point system (see below) and pressure.
The captain is given a ready-made list of questions for the call. He must check whether yesterday’s assignment has been completed and issue a new one. The document formulates an important rule: do not accept excuses. If a person references external circumstances («traffic jams, boss, children»), according to the text, this is considered their personal failure.
«A captain cannot fail to take a captain’s call — this is unacceptable!» it is written in the book. And further: «A captain cannot prolong a call so as not to take the next student’s call on time — this is unacceptable!».
Expert Alexander Neveyev explains why this is needed:
«Very clear instructions, like in a kindergarten. Everything is spelled out in detail. And this feeling of infantilism, of kindergarten, is absolutely not accidental. Because the main task of such trainings is precisely to turn a person into an infantile, detached from reality, stricken with wild unceasing enthusiasm. And why is this done? Because such infantile, exalted, emotional people are very easy to manage.»
«Stretches»: Tasks to Leave the Comfort Zone
The «Captain’s Book» contains a list of 85 tasks called «stretches» (from English «stretch» — to stretch), which the captain was to give to students. Among them are relatively harmless ones: «make breakfast in bed,» «read a book.» But many, as the expert notes, are frankly strange and, according to victims, could lead to public humiliation:
«Get acquainted with a guy/girl, create a relationship, break bread, get a phone number.»
«Striptease for husband/wife.»
«Dress in a way that is not typical for the person.»
«Recite a favorite poem or sing a favorite song to three people.»
«Hitchhike all day.»
Alexander Neveyev explains the role these exercises played in the system, in his opinion:
«This is simply a way to sweeten the poison… a means that allows, conditionally speaking, to subjugate a person’s will. In short, this kindergarten, this infantilism, is cultivated so that the trainer can control the group through the captains.»
Project «Involvement»: Recruiting New Clients
The most revealing section of the book is devoted to recruiting new clients. It is called — Project «Involvement.» In the expert’s opinion, this was the financial foundation of the center.
Each «captain» and their students were given a strict target: bring new people to the center. The book provides a detailed script disguised as a friendly conversation.
Building relationships: «Establish open and sincere relationships with the person… Build long-term relationships. This means fully being on their side, knowing that your relationship will be long-term, and you take responsibility for this person as a close friend.»
Identifying dreams: You need to find out what the person wants in life and link those dreams to the training.
Handling objections: Ready-made answers for all excuses are provided.
For example:
«No money» — «Yes, I understand… If you knew that if you go through the training, all this will really happen in your life, do you think you could handle the money?»
«This is a sect» — «Let’s say, and then it’s the best sect I’ve ever been in — true faith, taking responsibility for your life… It’s practical training with concrete results.»
«I’m not ready» — «You will never have more information about this than you do now. You will never be more ready for it.»
Expert Neveyev points out the economic benefit of such a system for the organizers:
«The material side of the issue is striking, which is clearly visible here. That is, people must involve other people… Leaders do all this for free. This, of course, gives the trainer a colossal advantage, a colossal profit. So, free involvement, free control over the group. That is what all these clear instructions are aimed at.»
Thus, according to the specialist, the classic scheme worked: old participants («captains») recruited new ones for free, who paid money.
Its Own Language, Its Own Rules
Another sign that the expert identifies in the book as characteristic of destructive groups is the creation of its own language. Participants of Harmonia used many abbreviations and terms:
LP — Leader Program.
SP — Social Project (collecting money for charity).
BP/TP — Basic and Transformation Programs (first stages of training).
Stretch — a development task.
Be the source — take responsibility for everything.
«The very order of the book, the nature of all these rules, various constant omissions, newspeak, a new language understandable only to group members, — all this points to sectarianism, — comments Neveyev. — This is their separation from everyone else, because people immersed in such a specific language find it very difficult to communicate with non-members, with outsiders.»
Game Mechanics and Mutual Responsibility
All life in Harmonia, according to the document, was built on a point system for any action:
For an on-time call — 2 points.
For bringing a person — 50-75 points.
For donating 1000 rubles ($11 at current rates) to the «Social Project» — 1 point.
For achieving a personal goal — 100 points.
Teams competed with each other. This created excitement and constant involvement, as well as, victims note, a sense of guilt at the thought of leaving, because it would mean «letting the team down.»
What Happened Next: From Instructions to Million-Ruble Debts
The «Captain’s Book» is the missing link in the story we told. It shows how the system was arranged, inside which, according to victims, financial fraud occurred.
Expert Alexander Neveyev describes the supposed algorithm of such a system: first, a person was immersed in a state of controlled «infantilism,» then he worked for the system for free, recruiting new clients, and in the final stage, when dependence on the group peaked, he could be asked for money. And he, already deeply involved and afraid to fall out of the «pack,» often agreed.
Now the physical space of Harmonia is empty — the center was evicted. But for dozens of people, its system, as they claim, left multimillion-ruble debts, family problems, and psychological trauma. The «Captain’s Book» is a document that, according to the expert’s conclusion, bears all the signs of a guide not for personal growth, but for building totalitarian control.
