SAKHALIN POLICE CONDUCT AN INQUIRY INTO CONDUCT OF RELIGIOUS MEETINGS BY AN ECOLOGY ACTIVIST
by Ksenia Semenova
Sakhalin.info, 29 October 2018
It has been learned by the Sakhalin.info news agency that Sakhalin police are conducting an examination of a religious association that operates in the Olympia residential complex in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, intended for the residence and services of employees of the Exxon Neftgaz Limited company. This association includes foreign missionaries and employees of foreign companies and one of the top managers conducts religious meetings.
In accordance with the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious association,' the conduct of missionary activity, including attracting new members into the ranks of religious associations, may be conducted only in places especially designated for these purposes and engaging in missionary activity in residential areas is forbidden. At the same time, among the foreign employees of the aforementioned companies there are no persons whose visa documents indicate conducting missionary activity, which is a violation of migration legislation.
During the course of the inquiry there was revealed an incident of attracting into its ranks not only foreigners, but also Russians. One of them, Roman Sh., is the leader of the aforesaid religious association, who also conducts religious meetings.
Previously, Sh. was an active member of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Uglegorsk, from where he moved to Korsakov. The man portrays himself as an ecology activist, and in particular he is one of the co-founders of the public regional organization of Territory of Wild Salmon and also an employee of Sakhalin Ecology Watch.
The public regional organization Territory of Wild Salmon received about ten million rubles as donations from foreign colleagues in 2016 to 2018. At the same time, Sh. has not been officially employed anywhere for many years. His wife is a Canadian citizen, with whom he regularly leaves for vacation in the U.S.A. and Canada. Receiving foreign financing could serve as grounds for assigning to Territory of Wild Salmon the status of a foreign agent, although in contrast to the earlier actions of Sakhalin Ecology Watch, this organization is completely private.
The results of the inquiry will become known later. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 November 2018)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
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/.