Category: Religion

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club [partial transcript]

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Middle East, North Africa, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club 2013 Meeting, Adapted from Screenshot of Valdai Club Video at youtube.com

(Kremlin.ru – Novgorod Region, September 19, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the final plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the club’s anniversary session is Russia’s Diversity for the Modern World. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that the place for your discussions, for our meetings is well […]

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Russians Have No Respect for Pussy Riot, Poll Says

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) Russians have no respect for Pussy Riot, a poll from Levada Center indicates. Out of a sample of 1,601 people surveyed in 130 urban centers, not a single respondent said that they respected the band. In August 2012, band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina were sentenced to two years […]

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Kadyrov denies Islamization of Chechnya

Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Religion
Ramzan Kadyrov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 23, 2013) Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, said there is no Islamization in Chechnya, the people of the republic simply have deep respect for Islamic traditions and unity with Russia is a choice of the Chechen people. “We don’t have any Islamization. To our great regret, we have young women who go around naked, without […]

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Lawyers Want Community Service for Pussy Riot – ­ Report

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 23, 2013) ­ Lawyers of the two jailed members of the Russian feminist punk protest group Pussy Riot are filing a petition to have their clients’ remaining jail time replaced with community service, a Russian daily reported Friday. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were sentenced to two years in jail last August for their February […]

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Pussy Riot’s Samutsevich intends to sue all three of her former lawyers

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 20, 2013) Pussy Riot punk band member Yekaterina Samutsevich, convicted to two years of a suspended sentence, has filed a lawsuit against her former lawyers Violetta Volkova, Nikolai Polozov and Mark Feigin. Samutsevich said she demanded to award her non-pecuniary damages for insulting statements regarding her. “The lawsuit has been filed against three lawyers: against Feigin, […]

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Slain priest Father Pavel was role model

Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – August 12, 2013) Pavel Adelgeim, an outspoken Orthodox priest, was stabbed to death last week. His death was a tragic end to an equally tragic life. Father Pavel, as he was known to many, was the son of parents who suffered grievously from repressions in the Soviet Union. In the […]

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‘Dissident’ Priest Stabbed to Death in Pskov

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – August 7, 2013) One of Russia’s most revered priests, widely considered a “dissident priest” for his strong criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church, was stabbed to death on Monday night in the northwestern town of Pskov. Pavel Adelgeim, 75, was found dead by his wife late Monday, with the suspect still at […]

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Is Russia Turning Protestant?

Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Voice of America – James Brooke, VOA Moscow Bureau Chief, covering Russia and the former USSR – July 30, 2013) RIO DE JANEIRO ­ In 1990, an American anthropologist wrote a controversial book: “Is Latin America Turning Protestant?” Two decades later, that same provocative question can be asked of Russia. Who will win: The Church of the Golden Domes? Or […]

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TRANSCRIPT [Putin]: Orthodox-Slavic Values: The Foundation of Ukraine’s Civilisational Choice conference

CIS, Customs Union, Eurasian Union, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, History, Soviet Union, Religion, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Ukrainians with Ukrainian Flag in Public Square Near Tower with Golden Dome

(Kremlin.ru – July 27, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the conference called Orthodox-Slavic Values: The Foundation of Ukraine’s Civilisational Choice. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, I just said goodbye before to President of Ukraine Mr Yanukovych. You also sent him your best wishes. Unfortunately, he has a strict schedule with a lot of events to attend: […]

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Patriarch Kirill thanks Putin for constructive dialogue with Orthodox Church

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Patriarch Kirill file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, July 26, 2013) Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has thanked Russian leaders represented by President Vladimir Putin for their respectful attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church. “We have been developing church-state relations since 2000. This model was not handed down from the above and its outlines – mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s affairs and, […]

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Surkov: God summons Putin to save Russia from ‘hostile takeover’

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Vladislav Surkov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 27, 2013) Vladislav Surkov who stepped down from the vice-premier’s position in May said his attitude to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian opposition did not change after he quit politics. “My resignation changed nothing in the divine dimension. There is no reason to think differently,” Surkov said in an interview with the magazine Russkiy Pioner. […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Interview for the documentary film The Second Baptism of Rus

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Kremlin.ru – July 23, 2013) Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the makers of the documentary film The Second Baptism of Rus, which screened on Rossia 1 television channel on July 22. The Second Baptism of Rus is a full-length documentary film about the resurgence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia over the last 25 years. The film gives […]

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Interfax: Recognition of same-sex marriages leads humanity to end of world – Patriarch Kirill

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Patriarch Kirill file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 22, 2013) Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill regards the recognition of same-sex marriages in Western countries an omen of the end of the world. “Lately we have been facing enormous temptations when in a number of countries the choice of sin is approved and justified by law, and those who do as their […]

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Patriarch Kirill conducts Romanov Dynasty 400th anniversary service in St. Petersburg

History, Soviet Union, Religion
Romanov Family Photo

(Interfax – St. Petersburg, July 12, 2013) Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia presided over a religious service marking the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg on Friday. Hundreds of worshippers gathered at the cathedral and in the square in front of it for the service, an Interfax correspondent […]

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Orthodox Patriarch Says Russians Having Too Much Fun

Religion
Valaam file photo showing Monastery church on wooded island

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – July 11, 2013) Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has urged Russians to have less fun and spend more of their free time in seclusion. On July 11, Kirill said there was “more fun than needed” in the life of Russians. He said people spent a lot of their energy working and should occupy their time in isolated, […]

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Poll shows Russians support bans on ‘gay propaganda’, hurting religious feelings

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Interfax – July 3, 2013) The recent laws criminalizing “propaganda” of homosexuality and actions aimed at hurting believers’ feelings have the support of the majority of Russians, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 3 July, quoting figures from the latest opinion poll carried out by Levada Centre. Figures on the center’s own website (http://www.levada.ru/) show that 16 per cent […]

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Interfax: Russia is fated to become center of Christian world – priest

Religion
Archpriest Vsevolad Chaplin file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 1, 2013) Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplain, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Synodal Department for Church and Society, said Russia is moving towards maximum self-reliance and must become the center of global Christianity. “It is not accidental that many see Russia as a defender of Christian ideals and traditional moral values, as a country that provides a real […]

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Banning insults to religion in Russia: cui bono?

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Church Domes with Crosses file photo

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – July 1, 2013) New laws are being adopted at a breakneck pace in Russia – almost as if some sort of legal Apocalypse will soon be upon us, and lawmakers are afraid that they are running out of time. One of the newest bills just signed into law by President […]

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Putin Signs ‘Blasphemy’ and ‘Gay Propaganda’ Bills

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 1, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has signed the so-called “blasphemy bill” and the “gay propaganda bill” ­ two pieces of legislation that have outraged the liberal opposition. Both bills were passed unanimously by the State Duma on June 11, 2013, and their full texts appeared on the Kremlin’s site Sunday. The blasphemy law will […]

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The Big Chill: Critics Say Kremlin Waging A War On Ideas

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Robert Coalson – July 1, 2013) It’s not a great time to be a freethinker in Russia. Offending somebody’s religious sensibilities could get you prosecuted according to legislation signed this weekend by President Vladimir Putin. Criticizing the wrong person with a snarky comment on a social network could run afoul of a vaguely worded law criminalizing […]

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RIA Novosti: Most Russian Orthodox Don’t Read Bible, Pray, Go to Church – Poll

Religion
Church Domes with Crosses file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 17, 2013) ­ About 64 percent of Russians identify themselves as belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church, but many of them have never read the Bible and rarely go to church or pray, a recent poll showed. Some 52 percent of Russian self-identified Orthodox Christians said that they have never read the New Testament, the […]

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Some Surprising Answers on Who Goes to Church in Moscow and What They Think

Religion

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 14, 2013) An admittedly unrepresentative poll of Russians attending Orthodox services on Palm Sunday conducted by the Sreda Sociological Service, the results of which were released this week, found that many of the most widespread assumptions about who goes to church in Russia and why are not justified. The sociologists asked […]

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Activists Fear Repercussions of ‘Blasphemy Bill’

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – June 14, 2013) The bill protecting “believers’ feelings,” which rights activists and analysts have called a “step back” for Russia, a legal “Pandora’s Box” and a return to the Dark Ages, looks set to take effect in July after sailing through the State Duma with a unanimous vote on Wednesday. The so-called […]

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Russian rights activists, bloggers slam new law on protecting religious feelings

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Russian Orthodox Believers Holding Candles at Cathedral at Christmas

(Interfax – June 12, 2013) Russian rights activists and bloggers have criticized a bill protecting the feelings of religious believers, which the State Duma passed in the third and final reading on 11 June. The law, prompted by the controversial Pussy Riot “punk prayer” in 2012 in Moscow’s main cathedral, provides up to three years’ jail for offending religious feelings. […]

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‘Blasphemy Bill’ in Effect From July

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 11, 2013) The controversial legislation that introduces tough penalties for offending believers’ feelings is set to come into force in July after State Duma Deputies approved a number of amendments to the bill in a third and final reading. Hefty fines and possible prison sentences for offenders from both Russia and abroad are included […]

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Putin says he never married in church, says divorce was mutual decision

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Interfax – June 11, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he and his wife Lyudmila Putina never married in church and that their decision to divorce was a mutual one, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 11 June. “We never married in church,” Putin said at a meeting with staff from the RT TV channel (formerly Russia Today). […]

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‘Islamic Factor’ Already Looms Large in Upcoming Moscow Mayoralty Race

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 10, 2013) Even though Muscovites will cast their votes for mayor only three months from now, Sergey Sobyanin and other aspirants are already playing the Muslim card to win support among ethnic Russians, a practice that is further alienating the Russian capital’s large and growing Muslim community. In a commentary in […]

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Russian government seeks stricter penalties for extremism

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia, Religion
Russian Jail File Photo Showing Outer Wall, Windows, Barbed Wire

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – May 28, 2013) A Russian government commission has approved a draft law increasing criminal punishments for extremism-related crimes and wrongdoing by religious organizations, seeking stiffer penalties for an existing controversial extremism law. “The government legislation commission has approved for consideration a draft law establishing a legal basis for neutralizing the destructive activities of religious organizations […]

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Putin says Russia needs to look back to move forward

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Vladimir Putin file photo

(Interfax – May 25, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that to move forward Russia needs to look back at its traditions and roots, Interfax news agency reported on 25 May, quoting the Kremlin’s website. In a message on the occasion of the unveiling of a monument to Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Germogen (Hermogenes), Putin says: “Today’s […]

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Russian Foreign Ministry says U.S. State Department’s religious freedom report politicized

Human Rights, Religion, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 23, 2013) The 2012 international religious freedom report of the U.S. State department has been done superficially and does not reflect the objective situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “We are to conclude that the U.S. State Department has again presented a contorted and politicized picture of the situation in the religious freedom sphere in the […]

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Pundit says Islamism greatest threat to Russia’s national security

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Military, Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Religion
Russian Mosque File Photo

(Interfax – Moscow, May 22, 2013) Radical Islam has taken roots in 55 Russian regions, former Interior Minister and president of the Club of Russian Military Commanders Army Gen Anatoliy Kulikov said at a scientific conference “Islamism and Russia’s national security” today. “Radical political Islam, or Islamism, which has declared jihad on our country, is the most real threat to […]

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Most Russians support non-intervention of church in state affairs – poll

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Russian Orthodox Believers Holding Candles at Cathedral at Christmas

(Interfax – Moscow, May 21, 2013) Most Russians (57%) think that state should not interfere in church affairs and vice versa, poll conducted by the Levada Center showed. At the same time, 30% respondents said they thought state and church should participate actively in each others’ affairs and 14% failed to answer. When asked who is to punish people insulting […]

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Russian human rights activist, MPs criticize anti-blasphemy bill

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Duma Session file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, May 21, 2013) The head of Russia’s oldest human rights organization, the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, has said that the draft bill on the protection of believers’ feelings passed by the State Duma in the second reading (today) violates human rights and contravenes the Constitution, despite softening amendments. “This is yet another repressive bill,” Alekseyeva told […]

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Russian Church Will Never Accept Gay Marriages, Patriarch Says

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Patriarch Kirill file photo

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, May 21, 2013) The Russian Orthodox Church will never recognize same-sex marriages, even though it respects people’s free choice even if it is sinful, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said on Tuesday (21 May) at a meeting with the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjoern Jagland. “If people choose such a way of […]

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Russian Laws, Policies Restrict Religious Freedom – US Report

Human Rights, Religion
Department of State Signage and Headquarters Building File Photo

(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, May 20, 2013) ­ Russia is among several countries around the world including Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, and China that imposed restrictions on freedom of religion last year, according to an annual report released Monday by the US State Department. “This report is a clear-eyed, objective look at the state of religious freedom around […]

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‘Blasphemy Bill’ Signals Return to 18th-Century Morals, Activists Say

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Moscow Times – thesmoscowtimes.com – Alexander Winning – May 17, 2013) Rights activists on Thursday ridiculed the notion that Russia is a secular state, saying draft legislation seeking tougher penalties for offending believers’ feelings shows the country is returning to 18th-century morals. “Officials and religious leaders are leading us back to Peter the Great’s times,” Viktor Bondarenko, founder of rights […]

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Russian analysts: immigrants, guest workers fertile ground for radical Islamism

Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia, Religion, Terrorism
Russian Mosque File Photo

(Interfax / Religion – Moscow, May 15, 2013) The head of a Russian policy think tank has argued that immigrants and guest workers who have come to Russia from Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union are potentially a fertile environment for radical Islamist ideas and called for tighter restrictions on immigration and guest labor. “The migrants are hostile toward […]

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Govt to mull bill naming places where religious services can be conducted without notification

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Russian Orthodox Believers Holding Candles at Cathedral at Christmas

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 2, 2013) The Russian government commission for legislative work has approved a bill defining the procedure and sites of conducting religious events. The bill amending the law on the freedom of conscience and on religious associations was drafted by the Justice Ministry by way of enforcing a December 2012 judgment of the Constitutional Court, the government […]

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Church-state partnership level is lower in Russia than in U.S., Europe – Patriarch

Religion
Patriarch Kirill file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, April 26, 2013) Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia thinks that the level of relations between the church and the state does not match its potential. “The level of church-state partnership in Russia is much lower than in Germany where the state collect taxes for the Church, France where the president appoints bishops in the Alsace-Lorraine […]

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Russians Leaving Orthodox Church for Other Christian Denominations, Moscow Experts Say

Religion
Church Domes with Crosses file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 16, 2013 – windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/04/window-on-eurasia-russians-leaving.html) There are now more than 15,000 Protestant congregations in the Russian Federation, according to a Moscow expert, a figure that surpasses the total of Russian Orthodox parishes and reflects in part Russian flight from the latter because of growing anger about the policies of the Moscow Patriarchate […]

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Kremlin Backs Law Protecting Religious Sentiment – Spokesman

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Russian Duma Building

(RIA Novosti – ULAN-UDE, April 11, 2013) ­ The Kremlin favors the idea of adopting a law protecting the religious feelings of Russian citizens, the Russian presidential spokesman said Thursday. Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, passed the bill in the first reading on Tuesday. “The Kremlin supports the idea of the law, and the wording of the […]

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Duma Approves ‘Blasphemy Bill’ in First Reading

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Duma Session file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Winning – April 10, 2013) The State Duma on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed in a first reading a contentious bill that would radically toughen penalties for those who offend believers’ feelings or desecrate relics and places of worship. Supporters of the legislation say it aims to safeguard traditional Russian values, which they say are under […]

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Criminal penalty for hurt believer feelings unhelpful to Church – Communists

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 9, 2013) The draft law that introduces criminal penalties for hurting the feelings of the believers and desecrating holy places is an anti-Church document, which will cause an outbreak of militant atheism, the Russian Communist Party parliamentary group believes. “This criminal penalty will not add to the Church’s authority. This is an anti-Church law,” Communist Party […]

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Anti-Semitism quite uncommon in Russia – report

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia, Religion
File Photo of Torah Scrolls

(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 6, 2013) Authors of a research on the level of anti-Semitism in Russia in 2011-2012 concluded that animosity toward Jewish people in the country is fairly uncommon, although they mentioned worrying manifestations of it among some nationalists, Muslims and government officials. “The level of crimes motivated by anti-Semitism continued to be relatively low in 2011-2012. Five […]

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Angels, Demons Are Taken for Aliens – Russian Cleric

Religion, Space
Archpriest Vsevolad Chaplin file photo

(RIA Novosti, MOSCOW, April 9, 2013) ­ Angels and demons do really exist, but are often mistaken for “so-called aliens” by those who encounter them, a senior Russian Orthodox Church clergyman said. “They are real creatures, humans come into contact with them as they sometimes reveal themselves,” Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who oversees the Church’s public relations, told RIA Novosti in […]

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Church official recommends elite to bring their funds back to Russia

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Religion
Archpriest Vsevolad Chaplin file photo

(Interfax / Religion – Moscow, April 3, 2013) The Russian church official urges Russian elite to realize their responsibility before nation and make their capitals work for the welfare of the Russian economic system. “Our elite has to consider attentively the signs of time and think whether it is time to change, to restore their connections with people and make […]

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Ombudsman Lukin calls for freeing Pussy Riot members on parole

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 2, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin has called for granting parole to the women from the Pussy Riot female punk band, who were earlier sentenced to two years in prison each for their stunt at the Christ the Savior Cathedral. “We expressed our disagreement with the court ruling convicting these two ladies, because we […]

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Pussy Riot stunt was caused by moral decline – justice minister

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Pussy Riot Member in Courtroom Cage, Grinning and Gesturing with Clasped Hands

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov believes the stunt carried out by the feminist punk group Pussy Riot in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is an indication of a moral decline in society. “There has been a considerable moral decline. The dancing of the girls, who consider themselves art revolutionaries, on the ambon of a church […]

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Poll suggests over one-third of Russians want parole for Pussy Riot performer

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – Russians who would like Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, one of the jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk rock band, to be released on parole make up roughly the same proportion as those who want her to serve out her two-year term, an opinion poll suggests. On March 20, the chairman of the Public Supervisory Commission of […]

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New Pope a Mixed Blessing for the Kremlin and the Patriarchate

Religion
Saint Peter's Basilica file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 15, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-new-pope-mixed.html) After its problems with the Polish John Paul II and its more hopeful ties with the German Benedict XVI, Moscow views the new Argentine pope, Francis I, as a very mixed blessing, someone with whom the Russian government and its Church may be able to cooperate on […]

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