RUSSIA
RELIGION NEWS|
|
|
Links
to Useful
Information |
On 15 December a regular (the second) session of the Levoberezhnyi court of Voronezh was held on the suit of the district prosecutor's office against the administration of Voronezh and the "Center of Spiritual Ministry," which is within the jurisdiction of the Russian Association of Missions of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals), a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports.
In accordance with statements of residents of the microdistrict and the results of an examination of the permit documents, the prosecutor concluded that it was illegal for the mayor's office of Voronezh to apportion a parcel of land for the construction of a religious administrative center with a worship space for 500 person,s and it requested judicial cancellation of the results of the agreement of three years ago between the mayor's office and the "Center for Spiritual Ministry."
Meanwhile, construction in the empty lot has still been unable to begin due to the existence of a written prohibition by the chief architect of the city of the removal of three old poplar trees located in the place intended for construction, although there was no agreement in the contract specifically about the poplars, although it was provided that upon completion of the construction work there would be landscaping and creation of a park.
The prosecutor has proceeded from the fact that at the time of conducting the competitive bidding the standard of the eighteenth article of the City Construction Code of the Russian federation was violated, which requires informing the population about upcoming construction, including reference to the purpose and characteristics of the buildings to be erected. However the eighteenth article of the construction code is of a general nature and does not prescribe the specific mechanisms for implementing the right of citizens to receive the corresponding information, and the municipalities determine this procedure independently.
The chief arguments of the citizens who oppose the construction are that believers have been given a park zone and that information about the intended construction was not delivered to the population.
In their turn, the Pentecostals, defending their right to the parcel of land that they acquired by concluding a forty-nine year lease with the possibility of subsequent purchase, cite documents indicating the lack of definitive boundaries of the park zone and reports in the press that preceded the competitive bidding fully indicating the nature of the future construction, without which it would have been impossible to hold an open bidding process. The previous leadership of the Committee on Land Resources of Voronezh at the end of the 1990s responded to numerous petitions of non-Orthodox believers to the mayor's office for apportionment of parcels of land for construction of new houses of worship, interpreting existing legislation on lands, including a decree of the president of Russia on land use in cities of 1998, and thus the only way left for non-Orthodox religious organizations to acquire land was through a system of competitive bidding.
Judge Liudmila Kalianchikova postponed review of the question in order to hear at the next session the position of Voronezh Vice-mayor Boris Trukhachev, who oversees matters of city construction and land use.
Attorney Marina Mitriurev, who is representing the interests of the "Center for Spiritual Ministry" in the case, told Portal-credo.ru that on 15 December the court did not admit into the materials of the case 726 signatures collected by the believers from residents of neighboring buildings, which indicate their consent to the construction of just such a building on the specific land, along with a videotape of a news report from the local televicion stations that, in the opinion of the Pentecostals, dealt with events in conformity with the views of the opponents of construction and create a negative image of the religious organization. At the same time the judge noted that the signatures support the position of only one side in the dispute. The attorney stressed that the signatures had been collected in strict conformity with standards contained in the regulations regarding surveys of citizens on problems of city construction policy, which were adopted by the Voronezh city duma just this year. In their turn, opponents of the construction introduced into court more than 220 signatures. In addition, the attorney noted, during the last session the judge expressed a position on the question of the park zone that even though the boundaries of the park are not defined, all the same it is a park.
According to Marina Mitiureva, the judge expressed the notion that since there is no procedure for the resolution of such conflicts, it cannot be ruled out that a local referendum will have to be held, but in that case the question arises of the financing of the plebiscite. (tr. by PDS, posted 17 December 2004)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
The Russian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate (RPTsMP) disagrees with the decision of the Russian federation Constitutional Court that prohibits the creation of parties on religious bases, NEWSru.com reports.
"In the West, Christian Democratic parties defend Christian values that distinguish them radically from the convictions of nonbelievers, including prohibition of abortions and euthanasia, and rejection of unjust wars and same-sex marriages," the vice-chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarch, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, told the Interfax news agency on 16 December.
Yesterday the court acknowledged that in some countries parties are active on the basis of the ideology of Christian democracy, the agency's interlocutor noted. At the same time he expressed amazement that the existence of such parties in Russia was held by the court to be impossible by appealing to the multiconfessional and multinational nature of the country, the specific properties of the way leading confessions function and their impact upon social life, and to the fact that political parties and religious associations in Russia still have not acquired substantial experience of democratic existence. The representative of the church called the court's argument "more than strange." "I do not understand why it is possible in the West but impossible in Russia, especially since Russia is no more multiconfessional than the majority of European countries," the priest said.
In his opinion, "it is not so important what the parties are called; the main thing is that people should have the possibility of affirming their world view in politics, including a religious world view, even if it does not conform to the interpretation of so-called general human values."
In Vsevolod Chaplin's view, so far the existence in Russia of parties that identify themselves as Christian and Orthodox has not been very successful. "I am talking about organizations which have shown themselves weak in politics or even not at all," he explained. At the same time the priest noted that according to the social doctrine adopted at the 2000 bishops' council, "the Russian Orthodox church is open to cooperation with any political organizations, including those that do not called themselves Christian and Orthodox." (tr. by PDS, posted 16 December 2004)
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT FINDS PROHIBITION OF RELIGIOUS POLITICAL PARTIES
LEGAL
Religiia
v svetskom obshchestve, 15 December 2004
On 15 December the Russian federation Constitutional Court did not find a violation of the constitution in point 3 of article 9 of the federal law "On political parties." The presence of words in the name of a party that signify a religious or national identity, in the court's opinion, does not indicate the religious or national orientation of the party, but it does evoke certain associations and attracts citizens who are inclined toward the named religion or nationality. From this there ensues the elevation of some citizens above others, which is a violation of the constitution, the court concludes.
The examination of the constitutionality of the standard of the law "On political parties" was begun on 16 November in connection with an inquiry from the Koptiev district court of Moscow and appeals by the "Orthodox Party" All-Russian public political organization.
Point 3 of article 9 of this law forbids the creation of political parties of the basis of professional, racial, national, or religious identity (that is, the charter must not include among its goals the protection of professional, racial, national, or religious interests and such identifications must not be reflected in the name of the party).
The plaintiffs turned to the Constitutional Court after the Russian Ministry of Justice refused to register the "Ruaaian All-National Union" political party, since its name used the word "Russian." The ministry also refused to grant the application for registration of the "Russian Christian Democratic Party," since the word "Christian" reflects a religious affiliation.
One of the plaintiffs, representing the Russian All-national Union, who is a member of the legislative assembly of Vladimir province, Igor Artemov, reported that "this prohibition is absurd and unconstitutional. All of international law is based on the possibility of national and religious groups defending their own interests." The plaintiffs intend to appeal to the Strasbourg court. (tr. by PDS, posted 16 December 2004)
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REVIEWS LAW ON POLITICAL PARTIES
Polit.ru,
15 December 2004
On 16 November of this year the Constitutional Court began an examination of the constitutionality of point 3 of article 9 of the federal law "On political parties," in connection with an inquiry from the Koptiev district court of Moscow and appeals from the "Orthodox Party" all-Russian public political orgnization. According to the contested point of the law, the creation of political parties on the basis of professional, racial, national, or religious affiliation is prohibited. The chief indicator is the presence of such a designation in the name.
The plaintiffs turned to the Constitutional Court with a request to ascertain the constitutionality of this point in connection with the fact that the Ministry of Justice of RF had refused to grant the application for registration of the "Russian All-National Union" and "Russian Christian Democratic" parties. The plaintiffs declared that point 3 of article 9 of the federal law "On political parties" violates the constitutional principle of the equality of citizens regardless of their race, nationality, relationship to religion, and other conditions, as well and the constitution right of citizens to association.
The plaintiffs claim that the legislature did not have the right to introduce a prohibition on the creation of political parties if their activity does not threaten the foundations of the constitutional structure, morality, health, or rights and legal interests of other people, as well as the defense and security of the state. (tr. by PDS, posted 16 December 2004)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Draft of a resolution of the All-Russian Civic Congress
The draft of the resolution of the All-Russian Civic Congress "Russia for democracy, against dictatorship" was prepared and submitted by the Institute of Freedom of Conscience, S.A. Burianov and S.A.Mozgovoy, co-chairmen
In contemporary Russia the implementation of basic constitutional principles in the area of freedom of conscience has been replaced by the priorities of a religious policy that is being conducted in the interests of power groups.
The religious policy is being conducted with the goal of maintaining power by means of the use of the authority of religion in election technologies. Among the purposes of the religious policy are control of the worldview sphere, inclusion of individual, public and mass consciousness in the sphere of religious sanctions, formation of a clerical ideology, and limitation of political competition, going so far as the formation of a political system without alternatives.
The methods of the religious policy, together with clerical ideoligizing of the agencies of power and governmental administration, the "power" structure, and the state system of education, presupposes the manipulation of religious organizations on the principle of the "carrot and stick" (knout and gingerbread).
The "carrot" takes the form of privileges, quotas, and even direct financing allocated for the RPTsMP and some of the so-called "traditional religious organizations." The "stick" takes the form of illegal restrictions of the activity and even religious persecution of confessions that are "nontraditional" for the state.
In addition, the methods of the religious policy include seemingly scientific justification, legislative reinforcement, and PR components in the news media.
The Russian Academy of State Service of the Russian presidential administration, along with the educational institutions of the "power" structure, have undertaken attempts to establish the anticonstitutional religious policy, in general, and corresponding terminology ("traditional religious organization," "religious extremism," "spiritual security," and the like), in particular.
For the legislative reenforcement of the religious policy, pertinent drafts of laws have been introduced into the Russian State Duma ("On traditional religious organizations," "On the social partnership of the state with religious associations," and so on).
Within the framework of a corresponding informational policy by the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications, the idea of confessional preeminence has been advanced in the form of "traditional" religions, with a corresponding intolerance toward "nontraditional" religions, with the use of negative social labels, "sect," or "totalitarian sect," for purposes of discrimination.
Along with limitation of political competition, the consequences of the religious policy include violation of human rights, nationalism, fears, and violence on the basis of intolerance. Dividing religions into "traditional" and "nontraditional" inevitably divides people on the basis of "Russian/Orthodox" and "alien/heterodox."
The most important element of the religious policy is state-confessional relations. The impact of the factor of relations between the state and religious associations on the policy and election results is effected by systemic corruption in the sphere of the relations mentioned (encompassing science and education, lawmaking, and law enforcement).
It is within the framework of the state-confessional relations mentioned that the power groups, under attractive pretexts, actually buy the political support of religious organizations that possess integrative resources. In this context there occur waste and corrupt use of budgetary resources and public funds.
The anticonstitutional tendencies in the area of religious policy and relations of the state with religious associations (the formation of a system of confessional preferences for "traditional" and corresponding restrictions for "nontraditional" religious associations) affected the outcome of the election. In its turn, the State Duma of the fourth convocation has the potential to reinforce legislatively (and probably it will do so) the above-mentioned tendencies and even to advance them to a new level, in principle, even so far as to change the constitution of RF and to formulation juridically a clerical ideology.
The question about the "purity" of the Russian elections of 2003 and 2004 is problematic, including the crudest violations of constitutional principles in the area of freedom of conscience that constitute the basis of the system.
Thus, yet another very important outcome of the religious policy is the further breakdown of democratic principles and institutions, that portends the ultimate destruction of civil society,
Yesterday the impact of the factor of the religious policy and relations of the state with religious associations was underestimated by the democratic parties and the movement for defense of rights.
Today, for revitalization of democracy in Russia, it is necessary to achieve a state policy in the sphere of freedom of conscience that corresponds with the Russian constitution. State-confessional relations must be placed under civic control.
The All-Russian Civic Congress considers as appropriate the creation of an independent commission for investigation of the anticonstitutional religious policy and corruption in the sphere of relations of the state with religious associations. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 December 2004)
posted on the Portal-credo.ru site, 13 December 2004
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
A district congress of Jehovah's Witnesses was held on 16-17 October in Moscow in the main arena of the "Izmailovskii" sports complex. Around 3,400 representatives of this religious denomination from congregations of the northeastern section of Moscow and neighboring districts of Moscow province participated in the congress, "Blagovest-info" reports. The motto of the congress was "Be guided by wisdom from above."
Principal attention in speeches, prayers and dramatic presentations at the congress was devoted to the idea of actively proclaiming the Jehovist beliefs. To this same topic was devoted a part of the program of the gathering, "The school of theocratic ministry," which was conducted by the elder of one of the congregations, Stanislav Beliavsky. In conversation with a group of congress participants he stressed the necessity of "carefully working out the territory," which means "finding people where they are," and he asked the audience to share such experiences.
One congress participant, Svetlana, to whom the leader turned, told how she works with young people, visiting libraries, schools, and clubs. When one goes into a school, she instructed, one must take one's passport and tell the guard that you are coming on personal business. When talking with the principal one should mention the topic of overcoming drug dependency. Often school workers mention the absence of free time and shortage of pedagogical literature. In that event one should offer "very good magazines, the 'Watchtower' and 'Awake, ' which give suggestions for countering drug addiction." According to Svetlana, for several years now she has gotten these magazines into one of the schools and excerpts from them have been aired on the school radio.
Another congress participant named Sergei, who is a so-called pioneer, works, in his words "around the apartments of city residents." This has its complications--intercoms, codes, and locked buildings, but they can be overcome. Once, he said, one of the residents waved an axe at him and drove him away. But during their next meeting he treated the evangelist "more calmly and they conversed about the faith." Congress participant Anna, who specializes in trading points, said that one must go to small shops where there are few people in order to proclaim the faith and converse with the bored salespersons. She recommends that on busses one talk with the conductor, since in such cases some of the passengers may join in the conversation. In conversations on the streets it is important to get the phone numbers of interested people and give them your own.
The main sermon ("public speech") on the theme of "Divine wisdom, the source of blessing," was given by the district superintendent, Mikhail Nichiporuk, who directed the congress. A portable pool was used in the sports arena for conducting water baptism of new members of the organization. This was preceded by a solemn oath. To each of three questions--do you repent and are you ready to serve Jehovah; are you ready to be members of the organization; do you declare your voluntary desire to receive water baptism--forty-three candidates for baptism answered "Yes" in chorus three times. According to one of the elders, a week earlier, on 9 October, when the Jehovah's Witnesses of southeast Moscow held a congress in the same sports complex, 26 new members of the organization were baptized.
In all, during the year Jehovah's Witnesses conduct, as a rule, three congresses, two district congresses at the beginning and end of the year and a large provincial one in the summer. In it participate members of Jehovist organizations of Moscow, Moscow province, and neighboring territories of other provinces. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 December 2004)
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
Traditional religions of Russia intend to cooperate actively in opposition to sectarianism. This was stated at a press conference entitled "Sectarianism in Russia," that was conducted in Moscow on 22 October, by the secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia, Roman Silantiev. According to his data, there are between 200 and 5000 sects active in the country, NEWSru.com reports, citing ITAR-TASS.
The major portion of the new religious movements is to be found in the Maritime territory (Primorskii krai). There is a large number of sects in the Khanty-Mansiisky and Yamalo-Nenetsky provinces, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, and in the northern Caucasus. There are none at all in Evenkia, Chechnia, and Ingushetia. The largest sect in Russia is the Jehovah's Witnesses, which comprises around 150,000 adherents. In addition, Scientologists, Moonies, and large groups of satanists and neo-Pentecostals remain rather notable in this area. "At the same time, the sect of Krishna followers has notably declined in recent years and its numbers have decreased in our country," Interfax quotes Silantiev as saying.
The most dangerous sects are those who hide behind Islam and their followers in the country number in the tens of thousands, "In Russia tens of thousands of so-called Wahhabis are activie, who nevertheless are very little like the true Wahhabis who live in Saudi Arabia, and there is no basis to conclude that this phenomenon will go away in the near future," Silantiev said. "And the newest group are the 'Russian Muslims' who number around 2,000 persons," Silantiev reported. He said that there are no adherents of traditional Islam among them and they do not recognize the Russian Muslim leaders but constitute what is essentially 'Islamic neopaganism.'"
"Although the media create the impression that there are tens of thousands of 'Russian Muslims,' actually there are only about 2,000 and this is a trivial amount on a Russia-wide scale," Silantiev said. Thus, he noted, the representatives of this movement are much fewer than Jehovah's Witnesses. Silantiev specified that the 2,000 figure includes those Russian women who have married Arabs and Muslims of the northern Caucasus.
There are extremely few followers of traditional Islam among the "Russian Muslims," the representative of the Interreligious Council noted, adding that as a rule they do not recognize the spiritual leaders of the Islamic community of Russia. The "Russian Muslim" movement itself Silantiev called "one of the newest sectarian groups," which has quickly subdivided into a variety of groups.
From two to five percent of the Russian population is under the influence of sectarians, Rabbi Alexander Lakshin, president of the Magen League, reported. He said that within Judaism there exists a problem of "confessional anonymity" when new religious groups exploit the trust of the traditional religions of Russia. "We are acquainted with the notion of proselytism where nontraditional religions mask themselves under Judaism," he said. He noted that our task is the dissemination of information about such groups.
The leader of the Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Nontraditional Religions and Occultic and Magic Movement, the priest Oleg Steniaev, raised the problem of the social, medical, psychological, and religious rehabilitation of victims of sectarians. Around 2,000 persons have passed through his center, where former members of sects are reunited with the church. Oleg Steniaev thinks that Muslims, Christians, and Jews should jointly help the people who have fallen into trouble. Oleg Steniaev called sectarians "spiritual marauders who take advantage of the way people do not know their own religious tradition." The priest said that 90 percent of sectarians in Russia are people who were once baptized into Orthodoxy. Oleg Steniaev stated that "sectarians plunge people into a state of internal emigration," Interfax noted. "A person may not be a Hindu," the priest explained, "but they give him Indian clothing and Indian food and suggest that he not live according to Russian traditions but by some alien ones."
As regards "Russian Muslims," Oleg Steniaev noted that the problem of converting representatives of Christian ethnic groups to Islam is more pressing for Europe than for Russia because of the domestic crisis of western Christianity. According to Steniaev, in the Russian federation this phenomenon has a terroristic subtext. The priest explained that "people with a Slavic appearance evoke suspicion less often on the part of officers of law enforcement agencies, and thus they are being intentionally recruited into Islam so that they can be used for committing terrorist acts," the leader of the rehabilitation center noted. (tr. by PDS, posted 13 December 2004)
Russia Religion News Current News Items