This is the kind of religious freedom you get in Russia under Putin’s fascism. The religions get liquidated if they do not file annual reports on activities and it seems that they still get liquidated if they do file annual reports of activity and the State and the Russian Orthodox church does not like the religious activities. Basically, this means that all religion outside of the Russian Orthodox Church will not be allowed to exist in Russia. Even if this is just a scare tactic as some imply, what makes anyone think this liquidation will not eventually take place under Putin?
Anatoly Pchelintsev, believes the responsible officials are unaware of the complicated international ramifications of their actions but I think they know what they are doing. Putin wants a Church State that will support everything he does. Putin sees himself as a czar.
ReligiousLiberty.TV | BREAKING NEWS – Russia Moves to Liquidate Fifty-Six Religious Groups
On October 15 the Russian Ministry of Justice took steps to begin liquidating 56 non-Russian Orthodox religious organizations. The groups face dissolution, Russian news sources reported, because they failed to file required annual reports on their activities. Those targeted include a range of non-Russian Orthodox organizations and churches but hardest hit were various Christian groups, both Protestant and Catholic. Baptist groups were prominent on the list, but Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist and Pentecostal groups were also included. Well known humanitarian groups such as World Vision and Youth with a Mission were also named, as was the Russian branch of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Non-Christian organizations were also named, including Muslim and Buddhist associations.
According to the Slavic Legal Center in Moscow, many of the organizations believe they are in full compliance with filing requirements and are surprised to be included in the list. They are unsure if the posting is a scare tactic or if the Ministry of Justice indeed intends to pursue liquidations on a massive scale. Anatoly Pchelintsev, an attorney for the Slavic Center for Law and Justice, remarked that “such actions fly in the face of official Russian state policy on the freedom of worship and creed.” Pchelintsev believes the responsible officials are unaware of the complicated international ramifications of their actions and cites the possibility of “chaos and destabilization in church-state relations.” He added that in the case of most of the affected organizations, the threatened punishment goes too far. “In Russia there already are more than a dozen cases in which courts rendered decisions in favor of religious organizations since the punishment for their failure to submit information did not formally fit the crime committed.” Moreover, he added, “liquidation for failure to submit information is equivalent to sentencing a jaywalker to the death penalty. After all, liquidation means that the organization’s life is put to an end.” In addition, said Pchelintsev, “such actions are inconsistent with the policy of the Russian government, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religious confessions for each person. The widespread liquidation of religious associations for petty violations will lead to the crudest infringement of human rights in our country and to the self-isolation of the government.”
