Moves against Missionary threat

Russian proposals for a new state policy on religion would give broad social access solely to those confessions deemed ‘traditional’ there.

An earlier state policy on national security adopted shortly after Vladimir Putin became acting president last January refers to the need to ‘counter the negative impact of foreign missionaries,’ who, some state officials believe, are western agents bent on destabilising the nation and seizing control of Russia’s Far East.

When the Moscow municipal authorities recently refused to renew the legal status of the Salvation Army in the capital, a local court cited the church’s subordination to a foreign centre of authority among the grounds for the decision. Put forward by the Moscow-based Institute for State-Confessional Relations and Law, the draft policy specifically names the Russian Orthodox Church and ‘historically-formed’ spiritual directorates of Muslims as traditional, and representatives of both those organisations have warmly welcomed the document.

Source: Keston Institute