Religious freedom is a new concept in the largest country in the world, Russia. The country was the centre of Communist power for more than a generation. But even under the Czars, religious freedom was limited.  With the crumbling of the USSR in 1991, Russia adopted a constitution that officially recognized freedom of religion. However, that freedom is not consistently respected across the country. Since Russia does not have a central agency to deal with religious affairs, unlike most of the former Soviet republics, there is a wide variation of religious freedom across the country and regional authorities often harass minority groups.

In 1997, the country passed a national religion law that has caused problems for many religious groups. According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, many minority religious groups face discrimination because they are not part of what Russia considers “traditional” religions – that is, Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. As such, these minority groups are often denied registration, unable to obtain places of worship, and suffer attacks from the state-controlled media. Even though only 10 citizens are required to register as a religious association, many groups are turned away. Religious groups are also threatened with liquidation if they are not registered. In March 2008, a United Methodist congregation was dissolved for not having a license for their Sunday school program. Although the court’s decision was later deemed “unlawful and without foundation,” this kind of repression is not uncommon. Further, new visas and visa renewals have been regularly denied for foreign religious workers. Since 1998, over 50 foreign religious workers have been banned from the country.

The Russian Orthodox Church continues to enjoy a special status with the Russian government, particularly at the local level. As a result, some Christian leaders have noticed an increasing intolerance towards non-Orthodox believers. The Russian Orthodox Church considers most Protestants “sects” and directly opposes these churches through printed material and public protests. The leadership of the Orthodox Church has told all priests to report on the activities of Protestants and those who show any kind of favouritism to “sectarians.”

• Pray that religious freedom will be consistently respected throughout Russia.
• Pray that churches that refuse to register for reasons of conscience will be free to serve Christ.
• Ask God to mend the struggles between the Russian Orthodox Church and Protestant groups.