The village, located in the north-west of what is today the Republic of Azerbaijan, was one of the settlements founded by the Doukhobors, a large sect of communally living peasants, exiled to the Transcaucasia from Ukraine and southern Russia in the 1840s.

[3] His father, Vasily Verigin, was an illiterate, but reportedly rich peasant, who, once elected a village headman, "showed himself a real despot".

[3]), in the Sirotsky Dom (Russian: Сиротский дом), or "The Orphanage" - the facility serving as the Doukhobor headquarter and a home for orphans and the aged.

While working for her and living at her residence,[8] Verigin received an extensive religious education, and was prepared by the childless Lukerya to become her successor as the leader of the Doukhobors.

The Doukhobors also rejected the holiness of Jesus Christ and the Bible, and were naturally pacifists and conscientious objectors who refused to participate in wars and battles.

A portion of the community known as "the Large Party" (Russian: Большая сторона) accepted Peter Verigin as her designated successor and leader.

[10] In November 1894, as he was being transferred from Kola to Obdorsk, Verigin wrote a message to the Doukhobors, asking them to obey God's commandment, "Thou shalt not kill", to destroy their weapons, and refuse military service.

In following days more conscripts laid down their arms and refused further service, and reservists were returning their registration papers to the draft boards.

[6][11] Horrified at the plight of his followers, in August 1896 Verigin wrote to Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, the wife of Nicholas, making a number of proposals to resolve the conflict, such as the resettlement of the Large-Party Doukhobors to some remote province of Russia (assuming that an exemption from military service could still be granted), or emigration to Britain or Canada.

Verigin's delegation met with Stolypin and other ministers, who made an offer of land in the Altai (south-western Siberia) and an exemption from the conscription.

Although the offer was personally confirmed by Nicholas II, Verigin felt that, no matter what, the Doukhobors' situation in Russia would not be as secure as in Canada.

Verigin established his first Canadian residence at the Doukhobor village of Poterpevshie (Russian: Потерпевшие, 'The Victims', or perhaps 'The Survivors'), some 15 km northwest of Kamsack, Saskatchewan.

Otradnoye continued to be Verigin's headquarters until 1904 or 1905[13] The nearby village of Nadezhda was the site of annual general meetings of the Doukhobor community chaired by him.

Following this in 1907 the communal land system was abolished and in 1908 Verigin led around 6,000 of his group (Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood, CCUB) to British Columbia.

Verigin had another residence built for himself near Grand Forks, British Columbia, spending the rest of his life sharing his time between the two provinces.

After the bankruptcy of CCUB, he reorganized as the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ (USCC) in 1938, headquarters in Grand Forks, British Columbia.