A Russian man took a woman hostage and demanded a lethal injection to die in front of TV cameras in a bid "to fight dark forces in the underworld", police said.
The incident took place Tuesday in Mari El republic.
The 29-year-old unemployed man, armed with a hunting rifle, took a 44-year-old woman hostage in her apartment in the capital Yoshkar-Ola.
"The man called the police, demanding a TV crew and a lethal injection so that he could publicly commit suicide and go to the underworld to fight dark forces," police said.
The local MariMedia news portal said the hostage-taker was heard screaming to give him "a lethal injection to save Christ".
He was detained after a police officer, posing as a journalist, persuaded him to open the apartment door.
The man, who already attempted to commit suicide in 2010, faces up to 15 years in prison.