RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS
|
Copyrighted material. For private use only. If you quote material, please credit the publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit this Web page for any print use of the material. If any electronic reproduction is made, please acknowledge the URL: http:www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/ |
|||
|
|
|
|
Information |
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Russia objects to European rights court decision
RUSSIA WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN STRASBOURG COURT IN CASE REGARDING
PROHIBITION OF CRUCIFIXES IN SCHOOLS
Regions.ru, 2 June 2010
Ten countries want to participate in Strasbourg in a case regarding prohibition on crucifixes in schools. For the first time in the history of the European Court for Human Rights, ten participating countries (Russia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Romania) want to speak in the trial in the capacity of third parties. The issue is the prohibition of crucifixes in Italian schools. The session of the court on this matter will be held on 30 June.
All of the enumerated countries want to support Italy, which is appealing a decision of the court.
The court issued the decision prohibiting crucifixes on the premise that this "restricts the rights of parents to give their children an education in accordance with their own beliefs and the right of children to be believers or nonbelievers on the basis of their own choice." In Strasbourg it was ruled that "obligatory presence of the symbol of some religious confession during the conduct of a public function under the control of the government, namely, in a classroom, creates a restriction incompatible with the obligation of the government to guarantee neutrality in the conduct of the given function, namely in the area of education," the court's decision says.
The third party status will permit other governments officially to participate in the trial in the capacity of one of the parties and to address the court with written and oral petitions and statements.
Several other countries have come out against the decision of the European Court for Human Rights, specifically Austria and Poland. In addition, twelve nongovernmental organizations have joined the case in the capacity of third parties. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 June 2010)
[Editor's note: For background, see "Human rights ruling against classroom crucifixes angers Italy," Guardian, 3 November 2009.]
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Interfax, 7 June 2010
The head of the Romanov House, rand Princess Maria Vladimirovna, visited last weekend the cathedral of the Feodorov Icon of the Mother of God in Tsarskoe Selo, outside St. Petersburg, where a lity for her late mother, Grand Princess Leonida Georgievna, was served.
Maria Vladimirovna presented to the cathedral a copy of the Feodorov Icon of the Mother of God and a particle of the relics of the Holy Martyr St. Catherine as a gift for the cathedral of St. Catherine that is under construction in Tsarskoe Selo.
The church of St. Catherine will become the second site after Mt. Sinai where it will be possible to venerate the relics of this saint.
St. Catherine, who before her baptism was called Dorotea, was born in A.D.294 in Alexandria. During the time of persecution of Christians in the reign of Emperor Maximilian at the beginning of the fourth century Catherine publicly declared her faith in Christ and was executed. The body of the saint disappeared; according to tradition it was transported by angels to the summit of the highest peak on Sinai, that now bears her name.
In the middle of the sixth century, monks climbed this peak and found the relics of St. Catherine there and moved them into a church. Since then they have been preserved in the altar of the monastery of the Transfiguration at Mt. Sinai. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 June 2010)
[Editor's note: for background for understanding this event, see the recent monograph by Gary Marker, Imperial Saint: the Cult of St. Catherine and the Dawn of Female Rule in Russia (Northern Illinois University Press, 1907)]
Russia Religion News Current News Items
[Addressed to 13 chiefs of Internal Affairs departments and units in Krasnodar territory]
Information is hereby provided by the Administration of the Federal Security Service (UFSB) of Russia for Krasnodar territory of 25 February 2010 No. 5/439 for organization of the conduct of necessary operational and preventive measures, implementation, and monitoring.
"The administration will implement a complex of measures for putting an end to illegal activity by functionaries of the destructive 'Jehovah's Witnesses' religious organization."
On 8 December 2009 the judicial college for civil cases of the Supreme Court of RF issued a decision upholding without changes a decision of a Rostov provincial court of 11 September 2009, according to which the local Jehovah's Witnesses religious group of the city of Taganrog was ruled to be an extremist organization.
On 27 January 2010, by a determination of the Supreme Court of Altai, a decision of a city court of Gorno-Altaisk of 1 October 2009, according to which publications of Jehovists were found to be extremist materials, was left without change.
Thereby, judicial decisions, finding 52 titles of Jehovist literature to be extremist materials, and that the Taganrog local Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization is extremist and their property was confiscated in favor of the state, took effect legally.
Under these circumstances, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of St. Petersburg unfurled a massive campaign of propaganda among believers about "repressions" with respect to the "true" Christians Jehovah's Witnesses.
Existing information provides evidence of the intensification of measures of conspiracy by Jehovists in the preaching meetings, congresses, construction of so-called Kingdom Halls, and other organized events.
The leadership of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia has issued orders to local congregations to remove from Kingdom Halls literature, audio and video productions, letters, forms, documents, and personal pictures of meetings, participants' cards, computers, and other objects and materials pertaining to the religious activity of the meetings.
It is recommended to disperse the literature among the residences of adepts.
There have been revealed attempts by functionaries of Jehovah's Witnesses to transfer ownership of immovable objects (Kingdom Halls, land parcels) from the local religious organizations to individual persons who are the most loyal members of the organizations.
According to existing information, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, under the coordination of the ruling council of the international Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization (New York, USA), has planned from 26 to 28 February 2010 to conduct an informational campaign directed at drawing the attention of the public to "persecutions" against the organization on the part of Russian authorities.
During the course of this widespread action it is planned to distribute among the population pamphlets "History is repeating itself; questions for Russians," the massive delivery of which to religious structures is expected by Jehovists in the near future. In the brochures prepared for distribution, the administrative center recommends pointing out the necessity of using the following theses during contacts with the populace: "Here is an important message for residents of Russia. Please read it," "More than 300,000 Russians share the views of the Jehovah's Witnesses," "Jehovah's Witnesses have existed in Russia more than 100 years," "Now the basic rights and freedoms of Jehovah's Witnesses are being violated," and the like.
Preparation of the actions has been conducted with heightened measures of conspiracy. In particular, the leaders of congregations are advised to report them to ordinary members of the organization only on the day that they begin.
We also report that according to information received, from 1 March 2010, by order of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, in all regional meetings of JW it is planned to conduct meetings for studying the book "Come follow me," which has been ruled extremist material by decision of the Supreme Court of RF.
In the opinion of experts studying the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, the events are directed not only to the formation of public opinion favorable to Jehovah's Witnesses but also to the creation of an informational base for implementing, with the aid of Russian and foreign news media, a propaganda campaign for discrediting the policy practiced by the leadership of the country in the sphere of state-religious relations. The latter is one of the elements of protests for putting pressure on judicial organs of RF which have made a number of decisions directed to the termination of extremist activity of a number of Jehovist structures.
We report by way of collaboration.
We ask that you inform us when you establish instances of the conduct by Jehovists of illegal actions connected with the organization and execution of illegal protest actions, distribution of extremist literature, and any other actions in violation of the legislation of RF." (tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 4 June 2010
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 4 June 2010
On 4 June 2010, beginning in early morning, several police groups invaded five apartments and two houses of worship of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Omsk. They seized books, computers, and documents, including items connected with the professional, nonreligious activity of residents. A criminal case has been opened. Ordinary people, who simply have their own religious convictions, were shocked to suddenly find themselves in the role of "criminals." One of the women became seriously ill as a result of the stress caused, and she was hospitalized.
The searches were preceded by summons of believers to the local Center for Combating Extremism (TsPE), and interrogations and other investigative measure were organized by a staff member of TsPE, Evgeny Krapivin. There even occurred instances of planting informers under the guise of people seeking religious truth. (tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
OMSK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES SUSPECTED OF DISTRIBUTING EXTREMIST LITERATURE
Interfax-Religiia, 4 June 2010
The prosecutor of Omsk province on Friday acknowledged as legal the opening of a criminal case with respect to the local Jehovah's Witneses religious organization that is suspected of distributing extremist materials.
The case was opened in the basis of part 1, article 282 of the Criminal Code of RF (incitement of hatred or strife along with disparagement of human dignity), an assistant prosecutor of the region, Tatiana Borodina, told Interfax.
In the course of an investigation conducted by the Center for Combating Extremism of the provincial Department of Internal Affairs, it was established that in the period from October 2009 to May 2010, members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization distributed among members of the organization at their meetings books and brochures that are included in the federal list of extremist materials of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian federation.
"At the present time, specific persons who participated in the crime are being identified," T. Borodina noted.
Conduct of the investigation is under the control of the prosecutor's office of the province.
(tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Interfax-Religiia, 3 June 2010
A farewell to poet Andrei Voznesensky will be held on Friday in Moscow at 10:00 a.m., the press secretary of the Union of Writers of the Capital, Alexander Gerasimov, told Interfax.
The casket with the body of A. Voznesensky will be displayed on the stage of the Great Hall of the Central House of Authors.
At noon a civil funeral will begin there, after which a requiem for the poet will be conducted in the church of St. Tatiana in Moscow State University.
On Tuesday people wishing to say farewell to him began gathering outside the dacha of A. Voznesensky in the writers' village of Peredelkino, where the poet lived in his last years.
A. Voznesensky will be buried in a family plot in the old part of Novodevichy cemetery, in parcel number four, where his parents and maternal grandmother are buried. Voznesensky's grave will be located not far from the place where the remains of Fedor Shaliapin are buried. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 June 2010)
VOZNESENSKY ALWAYS CONSIDERED HIMSELF A BELIEVER, BUT HE WAS BAPTIZED ONLY SEVERAL YEARS AGO
Interfax-Religiia, 4 June 2010
Poet Andrei Voznesensky became Orthodox only shortly before his death, the head of the patriarchal press service, Archpriest Vladimir Vigiliansky, reported.
"I persuaded him to be baptized, but for a long time Andrei Andreevich thought that it was not necessary for him, because he had a special relationship with God, without intermediaries. He was baptized only a few years ago, when he was already very ill," Fr Vladimir explained in an interview with "Interfax-Religiia" portal.
He became acquainted with A. Voznesensky more than 20 years ago, and then they became neighbors in the Moscow suburb of Peredelkino, and they frequently conversed. The poet's great-grandfather was a famous priest who, in particular, confessed prisoners in the Peter and Paul Fortress. A. Voznesensky himself, according to Fr Vladimir, had a variety of relationships with faith and the church, "but he said that he always was a believing person."
"This is evident in his verses, which revealed a search for truth, harmony, and the divine presence in the world. He viewed the world from the height of his inspiration. It is noteworthy that even before his baptism he attended the church in Peredelkino," the agency's interlocutor noted.
He described how he went out to read morning prayers on the street in Peredelkino, and Voznesensky would "walk in the morning because he had an inspiration." Once Fr Vladimir asked: "What's up? You taking a walk?" He answered: "No, I am communing with the heavens; words and lines and rhythms are sent to me from there."
"He was, without doubt, very gifted and inspired; but inspiration is given only by God and nobody else. Inspiration is that gift that he received gratefully from God. And, of course, he had very clear strains of such a spontaneous religious consciousness," the priest recalls.
Speaking of the late poet, he said that he was "a completely unrepeatable person, with his own special voice" and that he "brought a very great deal to Russian poetry." (tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
From the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
1 June 2010
The Taganrog building, which had teemed with the life of a Christian congregation, has been confiscated and sealed up. Freedom of religious confession was restricted with the help of a law on combating extremism.
On 8 December 2009 the Supreme Court of RF left in force the decision of a Rostov provincial court liquidating the local "Taganrog" Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization and ruled 34 Christian publications, including a number of issues of the world famous magazines "Watchtower" and "Awake," to be extremist. This gave rise to a wave of religious intolerance against Jehovah's Witnesses. By April 2010 no fewer than 265 arrests, searches, confiscations, and raids on residences and work places of believers had been confirmed. At least 6 criminal cases were opened. On 26 April 2010 Roskomnadzor published an order that affected the interests of all 158,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia: regarding cancellation of permissions to distribute "Watchtower" and "Awake" on the territory of the country.
Having exhausted all internal Russian resources, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses will conduct a press conference on Wednesday, 2 June, at which it will announce that on 1 June 2010 an appeal to the European Court for Human Rights against the determination of the Supreme Court of RF of 8 December 2009. Previously, in January 2007 the ECHR issued a unanimous decision in favor of the Jehovah's Witnesses in the case of "Kuznetsov et al. v. Russian federation," establishing that police and the plenipotentiary for human rights had violated the right to freedom of religious confession, interrupting a legal worship service of a congregation of 150 deaf Jehovah's Witnesses in Cheliabinsk.
Liudmila Alekseeva, chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, after the determination issued by the Supreme Court of RF, said: "I am sure that the European court will overturn the decision of the Russian court of the highest instance. However it is bitter for me to realize that at the same time, Russia will be viewed by the European community as a country that is wild, medieval, and intolerant of religious minorities."
"We nevertheless hope for a just judicial investigation at the level of Russian courts," said Vasily Kalin, director of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses. "This is way in the middle of May the Jehovah's Witnesses sent a review appeal to the presidium of the Supreme Court. However, we have considered it necessary to turn also to the European Court for Human Rights. We see how Jehovah's Witnesses are suffering throughout the country and it has become dangerous for them publicly to confess their faith and to assemble together for discussion of the Bible, since believer at any moment can be subjected to baseless arrest and interrogation." (tr. by PDS, posted 3 June 2010)
Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 3 June 2010
RUSSIAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FILE APPEAL IN EUROPEAN COURT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST VIOLATION OF THEIR RIGHTS
Portal-credo.ru, 2 June 2010
Representatives of the Russian "Jehovah's Witnesses" religious organization have turned to the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg with an appeal for protection from arbitrariness and unfounded accusations of extremism. On 1 June they filed in ECHR an appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court of RF closing the local religious JW organization in Taganrog and ruling the Witnesses' literature "extremist," and on 2 June they held in Moscow, in the Independent Press Center, a press conference on this affair, a "Portal-credo.ru" correspondent reports.
The press conference was conducted by a member of the Council of the Presidential Administration of RF for Facilitating the Development of Institutions of Civil Society, Sergei Krivenko; an expert from the Institute of Human Rights, Lev Levinson; the director of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Vasily Kalin; and an associate of this center, Aleksei Nazarychev.
Lev Levinson, who in the 1990s headed the staff of the Duma Committee for Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations, acknowledged that the decisions against JW made by Russian courts in 2009-2010 "bear an overtly discriminatory character." From an analysis of these decisions it is evident that Witnesses are being persecuted for claiming their religion to be true and others to be mistaken. But such postulates, the expert noted, exist in the teachings of all religions, so that "selective" justice is being applied to JW. Lev Levinson "is 99%" sure that the ECHR will defend the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and will restore justice, the more so since in the practice of this court there are corresponding precedents with regard to appeals of JW against Greece.
Rights advocate Sergei Krivenko noted the special role that JW have played in the establishment of alternative civilian service in Russia. In his opinion, the all-out assault on this religious organization was engendered by the new "antiextremist" legislation of Russia.
The head of the Administrative Center of JW, Vasily Kalin, acknowledged the necessity of the appeal to ECHR since he and his fellow believers were sure that the decision of the Supreme Court of RF of 8 December 2009 should have protected their rights. He compared current persecutions with the persecutions he and his family experienced in soviet times, displaying to the audience a "Red Book" of certification of rehabilitation, since the Russian government in the 1990s acknowledged that JW were victims of illegal repressions. "We have returned to those times that had been previously," Vasily Kalin noted. He pointed out only two excerpts from "expert analyses" by which the Russian court found JW literature "extremist": the story of the sentencing of Jesus Christ to execution by Pontius Pilate in a "children's" Bible (the experts decided that the story creates a negative image of Jewish clergy) and a quote from a work by Leo Tolstoy (the experts indicated that this writer "was an enemy of the Orthodox church"). The head of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia also reported that adherents of his confession have been deprived of the possibility of conducting their traditional provincial congresses in all regions of Russia.
Aleksei Nazarychev detected a leap in intolerance toward JW in Russia immediately after the decision of the Supreme Court of 8 December. He displayed a copy of document from the MVD and FSB or Russia with tacit instructions to cut off any JW activity, even using criminal elements against them. Aleksei Nazarychev formulated the scheme of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses thus: "First they declare someone is a criminal, and then they dream up his crime." (tr. by PDS, posted 3 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Portal-credo.ru, 2 June 2010
Deputies from Tatarstan have proposed to celebrate 16 May as a memorial Day of the Acceptance of Islam in Russia. This initiative was advanced by members of the Committee for Culture, Science, Education, and National Questions of the State Soviet (parliament) of Tatarstan, "NEWSru.com" reported on 1 June, citing ITAR-TASS.
The parliament members appealed to the fact that it was on this day, 16 May 922, that Islam was officially adopted as a state religion on the territory of current-day Russia, in Volga Bulgaria.
"Twenty million Muslims reside in Russia. If this date will be adopted, then the foundation of national policy and interethnic relations will be further strengthened," stated the chairman of the committee, Razil Valeev. He recalled that since 2005 Russia has been an observer country occupying a permanent seat in the Islamic Conference Organization, and that it conducts continuous active dialogue with Muslim countries.
"Introducing the Day of the Adoption of Islam in Russia into the list of memorial days of Russia, similar to the Day of the Baptism of Rus, would facilitate the further development of interconfessional dialogue in the country and the strengthening of the international authority of the Russian federation," the appeal adopted unanimously by the deputies stated.
The initiative to establish in the country a Day of the Adoption of Islam was made by the chairman of the State Soviet of Tatarstan, Farid Mukhametshin, on 25 May at a session of the United Commission on National Policy and Relations between the State and Religious Associations of the Federation Council. The suggestion was approved by participants.
We recall that on 1 June Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law establishing a new memorial day, the Day of the Baptism of Rus, which will be observed on 28 July. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Interfax-Religiia, 2 June 2010
Rights advocates intend to challenge in the Constitutional Court of Russia several provisions of the federal law "On combating extremist activity" in connection with the liquidations of a number of regional Jehovah's Witnesses groups.
"An independent expert legal council has prepared an appeal to the Constitutional Court in connection with the ban of Jehovah's Witnesses," a member of the Council in the Russian Presidential Administration for Facilitating the Development of Institutions of Civil Society and Human Rights, Sergei Krivenko, told Interfax on Wednesday.
He explained that rights advocates intend to ask the court to give a clear definition of the term "extremism." "The law itself is unconstitutional, and in regard to Jehovah's Witnesses it permits banning an organization simply on the basis of an analysis of their religious texts. It blurs the very concept of 'extremism' and the appeal is aimed at this part," S. Krivenko noted.
The rights advocate reported that at the present time the Jehovah's Witnesses are planning to file suit against Russia in the European Court for Human Rights.
Russian courts earlier have issued decision for liquidation of a number of regional groups of Jehovists in connection with finding their messages to be extremist. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
"SOVA" Information and Analysis Center, 2 June 2010
On 1 June the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia sent to the European Court of Human Rights an appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian federation, confirming the sentence of a Rostov provincial court of 11 September 2009 concerning liquidation of the local "Jehovah's Witnesses" religious organization in Taganrog.
We recall that this judicial decision has been used by power structures as a legal basis for persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in various regions of the country. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Portal-credo.ru, 1 June 2010
Russian President Dmitry Mevedev signed a law introducing a new state holiday, the Memorial Day of the Baptism of Rus, which will be observed on 28 July, "Lenta.ru" reported on 1 June, citing the Kremlin press service.
Earlier the law that was worked out by the Ministry of Culture was approved by the State Duma and confirmed by the Federation Council. The new holiday is equivalent to the days of Military Honor and memorial days, which means that it will not be a day-off from work.
The initiative for making the Day of the Baptism of Rus a state memorial day came from the Russian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate, which on that day honors the memory of Prince Vladimir, under whom the baptism occurred in 988.
When the law was being discussed in the Federation Council, Senator Amir Galliamov suggested that the day of the acceptance of Islam into Rus be confirmed as a memorial day, which happened 66 years earlier than the baptism. The speaker of the upper chamber of parliament, Sergei Mironov, then reported that such a draft law is already being developed. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
If material is quoted, please give credit to the publication from which it came.
Russia objects to European rights court decision
RUSSIA WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN STRASBOURG COURT IN CASE REGARDING
PROHIBITION OF CRUCIFIXES IN SCHOOLSRegions.ru, 2 June 2010
Ten countries want to participate in Strasbourg in a case regarding prohibition on crucifixes in schools. For the first time in the history of the European Court for Human Rights, ten participating countries (Russia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Romania) want to speak in the trial in the capacity of third parties. The issue is the prohibition of crucifixes in Italian schools. The session of the court on this matter will be held on 30 June.
All of the enumerated countries want to support Italy, which is appealing a decision of the court.
The court issued the decision prohibiting crucifixes on the premise that this "restricts the rights of parents to give their children an education in accordance with their own beliefs and the right of children to be believers or nonbelievers on the basis of their own choice." In Strasbourg it was ruled that "obligatory presence of the symbol of some religious confession during the conduct of a public function under the control of the government, namely, in a classroom, creates a restriction incompatible with the obligation of the government to guarantee neutrality in the conduct of the given function, namely in the area of education," the court's decision says.
The third party status will permit other governments officially to participate in the trial in the capacity of one of the parties and to address the court with written and oral petitions and statements.
Several other countries have come out against the decision of the European Court for Human Rights, specifically Austria and Poland. In addition, twelve nongovernmental organizations have joined the case in the capacity of third parties. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 June 2010)
[Editor's note: For background, see "Human rights ruling against classroom crucifixes angers Italy," Guardian, 3 November 2009.]
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Protectress of Romanov women to be venerated in "tsar's village"
HEAD OF ROMANOV HOUSE PRESENTS RELICS OF ST. CATHERINE TO CATHEDRAL IN TSARSKOE SELOInterfax, 7 June 2010
The head of the Romanov House, rand Princess Maria Vladimirovna, visited last weekend the cathedral of the Feodorov Icon of the Mother of God in Tsarskoe Selo, outside St. Petersburg, where a lity for her late mother, Grand Princess Leonida Georgievna, was served.
Maria Vladimirovna presented to the cathedral a copy of the Feodorov Icon of the Mother of God and a particle of the relics of the Holy Martyr St. Catherine as a gift for the cathedral of St. Catherine that is under construction in Tsarskoe Selo.
The church of St. Catherine will become the second site after Mt. Sinai where it will be possible to venerate the relics of this saint.
St. Catherine, who before her baptism was called Dorotea, was born in A.D.294 in Alexandria. During the time of persecution of Christians in the reign of Emperor Maximilian at the beginning of the fourth century Catherine publicly declared her faith in Christ and was executed. The body of the saint disappeared; according to tradition it was transported by angels to the summit of the highest peak on Sinai, that now bears her name.
In the middle of the sixth century, monks climbed this peak and found the relics of St. Catherine there and moved them into a church. Since then they have been preserved in the altar of the monastery of the Transfiguration at Mt. Sinai. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 June 2010)
[Editor's note: for background for understanding this event, see the recent monograph by Gary Marker, Imperial Saint: the Cult of St. Catherine and the Dawn of Female Rule in Russia (Northern Illinois University Press, 1907)]
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Internal affairs memo against Jehovah's Witnesses
DOCUMENT: ON SUPPRESSION OF ACTIVITY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ORGANIZATION[Addressed to 13 chiefs of Internal Affairs departments and units in Krasnodar territory]
Information is hereby provided by the Administration of the Federal Security Service (UFSB) of Russia for Krasnodar territory of 25 February 2010 No. 5/439 for organization of the conduct of necessary operational and preventive measures, implementation, and monitoring.
"The administration will implement a complex of measures for putting an end to illegal activity by functionaries of the destructive 'Jehovah's Witnesses' religious organization."
On 8 December 2009 the judicial college for civil cases of the Supreme Court of RF issued a decision upholding without changes a decision of a Rostov provincial court of 11 September 2009, according to which the local Jehovah's Witnesses religious group of the city of Taganrog was ruled to be an extremist organization.
On 27 January 2010, by a determination of the Supreme Court of Altai, a decision of a city court of Gorno-Altaisk of 1 October 2009, according to which publications of Jehovists were found to be extremist materials, was left without change.
Thereby, judicial decisions, finding 52 titles of Jehovist literature to be extremist materials, and that the Taganrog local Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization is extremist and their property was confiscated in favor of the state, took effect legally.
Under these circumstances, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of St. Petersburg unfurled a massive campaign of propaganda among believers about "repressions" with respect to the "true" Christians Jehovah's Witnesses.
Existing information provides evidence of the intensification of measures of conspiracy by Jehovists in the preaching meetings, congresses, construction of so-called Kingdom Halls, and other organized events.
The leadership of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia has issued orders to local congregations to remove from Kingdom Halls literature, audio and video productions, letters, forms, documents, and personal pictures of meetings, participants' cards, computers, and other objects and materials pertaining to the religious activity of the meetings.
It is recommended to disperse the literature among the residences of adepts.
There have been revealed attempts by functionaries of Jehovah's Witnesses to transfer ownership of immovable objects (Kingdom Halls, land parcels) from the local religious organizations to individual persons who are the most loyal members of the organizations.
According to existing information, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, under the coordination of the ruling council of the international Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization (New York, USA), has planned from 26 to 28 February 2010 to conduct an informational campaign directed at drawing the attention of the public to "persecutions" against the organization on the part of Russian authorities.
During the course of this widespread action it is planned to distribute among the population pamphlets "History is repeating itself; questions for Russians," the massive delivery of which to religious structures is expected by Jehovists in the near future. In the brochures prepared for distribution, the administrative center recommends pointing out the necessity of using the following theses during contacts with the populace: "Here is an important message for residents of Russia. Please read it," "More than 300,000 Russians share the views of the Jehovah's Witnesses," "Jehovah's Witnesses have existed in Russia more than 100 years," "Now the basic rights and freedoms of Jehovah's Witnesses are being violated," and the like.
Preparation of the actions has been conducted with heightened measures of conspiracy. In particular, the leaders of congregations are advised to report them to ordinary members of the organization only on the day that they begin.
We also report that according to information received, from 1 March 2010, by order of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, in all regional meetings of JW it is planned to conduct meetings for studying the book "Come follow me," which has been ruled extremist material by decision of the Supreme Court of RF.
In the opinion of experts studying the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, the events are directed not only to the formation of public opinion favorable to Jehovah's Witnesses but also to the creation of an informational base for implementing, with the aid of Russian and foreign news media, a propaganda campaign for discrediting the policy practiced by the leadership of the country in the sphere of state-religious relations. The latter is one of the elements of protests for putting pressure on judicial organs of RF which have made a number of decisions directed to the termination of extremist activity of a number of Jehovist structures.
We report by way of collaboration.
We ask that you inform us when you establish instances of the conduct by Jehovists of illegal actions connected with the organization and execution of illegal protest actions, distribution of extremist literature, and any other actions in violation of the legislation of RF." (tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 4 June 2010
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Extremism case being prepared against Siberian Jehovah's Witnesses
MASSIVE SEARCHES IN HOMES OF OMSK BELIEVERSAdministrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 4 June 2010
On 4 June 2010, beginning in early morning, several police groups invaded five apartments and two houses of worship of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Omsk. They seized books, computers, and documents, including items connected with the professional, nonreligious activity of residents. A criminal case has been opened. Ordinary people, who simply have their own religious convictions, were shocked to suddenly find themselves in the role of "criminals." One of the women became seriously ill as a result of the stress caused, and she was hospitalized.
The searches were preceded by summons of believers to the local Center for Combating Extremism (TsPE), and interrogations and other investigative measure were organized by a staff member of TsPE, Evgeny Krapivin. There even occurred instances of planting informers under the guise of people seeking religious truth. (tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
OMSK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES SUSPECTED OF DISTRIBUTING EXTREMIST LITERATURE
Interfax-Religiia, 4 June 2010
The prosecutor of Omsk province on Friday acknowledged as legal the opening of a criminal case with respect to the local Jehovah's Witneses religious organization that is suspected of distributing extremist materials.
The case was opened in the basis of part 1, article 282 of the Criminal Code of RF (incitement of hatred or strife along with disparagement of human dignity), an assistant prosecutor of the region, Tatiana Borodina, told Interfax.
In the course of an investigation conducted by the Center for Combating Extremism of the provincial Department of Internal Affairs, it was established that in the period from October 2009 to May 2010, members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization distributed among members of the organization at their meetings books and brochures that are included in the federal list of extremist materials of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian federation.
"At the present time, specific persons who participated in the crime are being identified," T. Borodina noted.
Conduct of the investigation is under the control of the prosecutor's office of the province.
(tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Soviet dissident poet to have church funeral
FUNERAL OF ANDREI VOZNESENSKY TO BE IN CHURCH OF ST. TATIANA IN MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITYInterfax-Religiia, 3 June 2010
A farewell to poet Andrei Voznesensky will be held on Friday in Moscow at 10:00 a.m., the press secretary of the Union of Writers of the Capital, Alexander Gerasimov, told Interfax.
The casket with the body of A. Voznesensky will be displayed on the stage of the Great Hall of the Central House of Authors.
At noon a civil funeral will begin there, after which a requiem for the poet will be conducted in the church of St. Tatiana in Moscow State University.
On Tuesday people wishing to say farewell to him began gathering outside the dacha of A. Voznesensky in the writers' village of Peredelkino, where the poet lived in his last years.
A. Voznesensky will be buried in a family plot in the old part of Novodevichy cemetery, in parcel number four, where his parents and maternal grandmother are buried. Voznesensky's grave will be located not far from the place where the remains of Fedor Shaliapin are buried. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 June 2010)
VOZNESENSKY ALWAYS CONSIDERED HIMSELF A BELIEVER, BUT HE WAS BAPTIZED ONLY SEVERAL YEARS AGO
Interfax-Religiia, 4 June 2010
Poet Andrei Voznesensky became Orthodox only shortly before his death, the head of the patriarchal press service, Archpriest Vladimir Vigiliansky, reported.
"I persuaded him to be baptized, but for a long time Andrei Andreevich thought that it was not necessary for him, because he had a special relationship with God, without intermediaries. He was baptized only a few years ago, when he was already very ill," Fr Vladimir explained in an interview with "Interfax-Religiia" portal.
He became acquainted with A. Voznesensky more than 20 years ago, and then they became neighbors in the Moscow suburb of Peredelkino, and they frequently conversed. The poet's great-grandfather was a famous priest who, in particular, confessed prisoners in the Peter and Paul Fortress. A. Voznesensky himself, according to Fr Vladimir, had a variety of relationships with faith and the church, "but he said that he always was a believing person."
"This is evident in his verses, which revealed a search for truth, harmony, and the divine presence in the world. He viewed the world from the height of his inspiration. It is noteworthy that even before his baptism he attended the church in Peredelkino," the agency's interlocutor noted.
He described how he went out to read morning prayers on the street in Peredelkino, and Voznesensky would "walk in the morning because he had an inspiration." Once Fr Vladimir asked: "What's up? You taking a walk?" He answered: "No, I am communing with the heavens; words and lines and rhythms are sent to me from there."
"He was, without doubt, very gifted and inspired; but inspiration is given only by God and nobody else. Inspiration is that gift that he received gratefully from God. And, of course, he had very clear strains of such a spontaneous religious consciousness," the priest recalls.
Speaking of the late poet, he said that he was "a completely unrepeatable person, with his own special voice" and that he "brought a very great deal to Russian poetry." (tr. by PDS, posted 4 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Jehovah's Witnesses announce appeal to European court
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CALL OUT TO WORLD COMMUNITYFrom the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
1 June 2010
The Taganrog building, which had teemed with the life of a Christian congregation, has been confiscated and sealed up. Freedom of religious confession was restricted with the help of a law on combating extremism.
On 8 December 2009 the Supreme Court of RF left in force the decision of a Rostov provincial court liquidating the local "Taganrog" Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization and ruled 34 Christian publications, including a number of issues of the world famous magazines "Watchtower" and "Awake," to be extremist. This gave rise to a wave of religious intolerance against Jehovah's Witnesses. By April 2010 no fewer than 265 arrests, searches, confiscations, and raids on residences and work places of believers had been confirmed. At least 6 criminal cases were opened. On 26 April 2010 Roskomnadzor published an order that affected the interests of all 158,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia: regarding cancellation of permissions to distribute "Watchtower" and "Awake" on the territory of the country.
Having exhausted all internal Russian resources, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses will conduct a press conference on Wednesday, 2 June, at which it will announce that on 1 June 2010 an appeal to the European Court for Human Rights against the determination of the Supreme Court of RF of 8 December 2009. Previously, in January 2007 the ECHR issued a unanimous decision in favor of the Jehovah's Witnesses in the case of "Kuznetsov et al. v. Russian federation," establishing that police and the plenipotentiary for human rights had violated the right to freedom of religious confession, interrupting a legal worship service of a congregation of 150 deaf Jehovah's Witnesses in Cheliabinsk.
Liudmila Alekseeva, chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, after the determination issued by the Supreme Court of RF, said: "I am sure that the European court will overturn the decision of the Russian court of the highest instance. However it is bitter for me to realize that at the same time, Russia will be viewed by the European community as a country that is wild, medieval, and intolerant of religious minorities."
"We nevertheless hope for a just judicial investigation at the level of Russian courts," said Vasily Kalin, director of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses. "This is way in the middle of May the Jehovah's Witnesses sent a review appeal to the presidium of the Supreme Court. However, we have considered it necessary to turn also to the European Court for Human Rights. We see how Jehovah's Witnesses are suffering throughout the country and it has become dangerous for them publicly to confess their faith and to assemble together for discussion of the Bible, since believer at any moment can be subjected to baseless arrest and interrogation." (tr. by PDS, posted 3 June 2010)
Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 3 June 2010
RUSSIAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FILE APPEAL IN EUROPEAN COURT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST VIOLATION OF THEIR RIGHTS
Portal-credo.ru, 2 June 2010
Representatives of the Russian "Jehovah's Witnesses" religious organization have turned to the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg with an appeal for protection from arbitrariness and unfounded accusations of extremism. On 1 June they filed in ECHR an appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court of RF closing the local religious JW organization in Taganrog and ruling the Witnesses' literature "extremist," and on 2 June they held in Moscow, in the Independent Press Center, a press conference on this affair, a "Portal-credo.ru" correspondent reports.
The press conference was conducted by a member of the Council of the Presidential Administration of RF for Facilitating the Development of Institutions of Civil Society, Sergei Krivenko; an expert from the Institute of Human Rights, Lev Levinson; the director of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Vasily Kalin; and an associate of this center, Aleksei Nazarychev.
Lev Levinson, who in the 1990s headed the staff of the Duma Committee for Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations, acknowledged that the decisions against JW made by Russian courts in 2009-2010 "bear an overtly discriminatory character." From an analysis of these decisions it is evident that Witnesses are being persecuted for claiming their religion to be true and others to be mistaken. But such postulates, the expert noted, exist in the teachings of all religions, so that "selective" justice is being applied to JW. Lev Levinson "is 99%" sure that the ECHR will defend the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and will restore justice, the more so since in the practice of this court there are corresponding precedents with regard to appeals of JW against Greece.
Rights advocate Sergei Krivenko noted the special role that JW have played in the establishment of alternative civilian service in Russia. In his opinion, the all-out assault on this religious organization was engendered by the new "antiextremist" legislation of Russia.
The head of the Administrative Center of JW, Vasily Kalin, acknowledged the necessity of the appeal to ECHR since he and his fellow believers were sure that the decision of the Supreme Court of RF of 8 December 2009 should have protected their rights. He compared current persecutions with the persecutions he and his family experienced in soviet times, displaying to the audience a "Red Book" of certification of rehabilitation, since the Russian government in the 1990s acknowledged that JW were victims of illegal repressions. "We have returned to those times that had been previously," Vasily Kalin noted. He pointed out only two excerpts from "expert analyses" by which the Russian court found JW literature "extremist": the story of the sentencing of Jesus Christ to execution by Pontius Pilate in a "children's" Bible (the experts decided that the story creates a negative image of Jewish clergy) and a quote from a work by Leo Tolstoy (the experts indicated that this writer "was an enemy of the Orthodox church"). The head of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia also reported that adherents of his confession have been deprived of the possibility of conducting their traditional provincial congresses in all regions of Russia.
Aleksei Nazarychev detected a leap in intolerance toward JW in Russia immediately after the decision of the Supreme Court of 8 December. He displayed a copy of document from the MVD and FSB or Russia with tacit instructions to cut off any JW activity, even using criminal elements against them. Aleksei Nazarychev formulated the scheme of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses thus: "First they declare someone is a criminal, and then they dream up his crime." (tr. by PDS, posted 3 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Russian Muslims call for Islamic memorial day
TATARSTAN DEPUTIES PROPOSE CELEBRATING THE DAY OF ACCEPTANCE OF ISLAM IN RUSSIA ON 16 MAYPortal-credo.ru, 2 June 2010
Deputies from Tatarstan have proposed to celebrate 16 May as a memorial Day of the Acceptance of Islam in Russia. This initiative was advanced by members of the Committee for Culture, Science, Education, and National Questions of the State Soviet (parliament) of Tatarstan, "NEWSru.com" reported on 1 June, citing ITAR-TASS.
The parliament members appealed to the fact that it was on this day, 16 May 922, that Islam was officially adopted as a state religion on the territory of current-day Russia, in Volga Bulgaria.
"Twenty million Muslims reside in Russia. If this date will be adopted, then the foundation of national policy and interethnic relations will be further strengthened," stated the chairman of the committee, Razil Valeev. He recalled that since 2005 Russia has been an observer country occupying a permanent seat in the Islamic Conference Organization, and that it conducts continuous active dialogue with Muslim countries.
"Introducing the Day of the Adoption of Islam in Russia into the list of memorial days of Russia, similar to the Day of the Baptism of Rus, would facilitate the further development of interconfessional dialogue in the country and the strengthening of the international authority of the Russian federation," the appeal adopted unanimously by the deputies stated.
The initiative to establish in the country a Day of the Adoption of Islam was made by the chairman of the State Soviet of Tatarstan, Farid Mukhametshin, on 25 May at a session of the United Commission on National Policy and Relations between the State and Religious Associations of the Federation Council. The suggestion was approved by participants.
We recall that on 1 June Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law establishing a new memorial day, the Day of the Baptism of Rus, which will be observed on 28 July. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Jehovah's Witnesses get support from presidential administration
BAN ON ACTIVITY OF JEHOVISTS TO BE CHALLENGED IN RUSSIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURTInterfax-Religiia, 2 June 2010
Rights advocates intend to challenge in the Constitutional Court of Russia several provisions of the federal law "On combating extremist activity" in connection with the liquidations of a number of regional Jehovah's Witnesses groups.
"An independent expert legal council has prepared an appeal to the Constitutional Court in connection with the ban of Jehovah's Witnesses," a member of the Council in the Russian Presidential Administration for Facilitating the Development of Institutions of Civil Society and Human Rights, Sergei Krivenko, told Interfax on Wednesday.
He explained that rights advocates intend to ask the court to give a clear definition of the term "extremism." "The law itself is unconstitutional, and in regard to Jehovah's Witnesses it permits banning an organization simply on the basis of an analysis of their religious texts. It blurs the very concept of 'extremism' and the appeal is aimed at this part," S. Krivenko noted.
The rights advocate reported that at the present time the Jehovah's Witnesses are planning to file suit against Russia in the European Court for Human Rights.
Russian courts earlier have issued decision for liquidation of a number of regional groups of Jehovists in connection with finding their messages to be extremist. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Jehovah's Witnesses seek another European ruling in their favor
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FILE APPEAL IN EUROPEAN COURT"SOVA" Information and Analysis Center, 2 June 2010
On 1 June the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia sent to the European Court of Human Rights an appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian federation, confirming the sentence of a Rostov provincial court of 11 September 2009 concerning liquidation of the local "Jehovah's Witnesses" religious organization in Taganrog.
We recall that this judicial decision has been used by power structures as a legal basis for persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in various regions of the country. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Russia prepares to celebrate coming of Christianity and Islam
DMITRY MEDVEDEV SIGNS LAW INTRODUCING NEW STATE HOLIDAY IN RUSSIAÑDAY OF THE BAPTISM OF RUSPortal-credo.ru, 1 June 2010
Russian President Dmitry Mevedev signed a law introducing a new state holiday, the Memorial Day of the Baptism of Rus, which will be observed on 28 July, "Lenta.ru" reported on 1 June, citing the Kremlin press service.
Earlier the law that was worked out by the Ministry of Culture was approved by the State Duma and confirmed by the Federation Council. The new holiday is equivalent to the days of Military Honor and memorial days, which means that it will not be a day-off from work.
The initiative for making the Day of the Baptism of Rus a state memorial day came from the Russian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate, which on that day honors the memory of Prince Vladimir, under whom the baptism occurred in 988.
When the law was being discussed in the Federation Council, Senator Amir Galliamov suggested that the day of the acceptance of Islam into Rus be confirmed as a memorial day, which happened 66 years earlier than the baptism. The speaker of the upper chamber of parliament, Sergei Mironov, then reported that such a draft law is already being developed. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 June 2010)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
If material is quoted, please give credit to the publication from which it came.
It is not necessary to credit this Web page. If material is transmitted
electronically, please include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.