The U.S. State Department has added Russia to its list of nations it considers among the world’s most egregious violators of religious freedom. Russia joins Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan on the list of “countries of particular concern.”
In light of a buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, Baptists in Ukraine called on Christians around the world to pray for peace in their nation. Read full piece
A female Jehovah’s Witness has been sentenced to two years in a Russian prison for practicing her faith, marking the first time the country has imprisoned a woman since a 2017 ruling that declared the faith group “extremist.” Valentina Baranovskaya, 69, was sentenced Wednesday along with
The secretary-general of the Russian bishops’ conference defended his church’s right to speak out during police repression, as the country’s Catholic archbishop demanded “substantial, concrete answers” to societal problems that are the subject of current massive protests. Read full piece
Catholic Church officials in Russia criticized planned religious law changes that will require all clergy who studied abroad to retrain in a Russian college. Read full piece
Not only did Orthodox Christians make up a significant number of the scores of protesters who took to the streets in pro-democracy protests across Russia this year; many of them openly cited their faith as grounds for taking action.
RICHMOND (BP) -- Andrew (Andy) N. Leininger, who served as a Christian worker in the former Soviet Union for 22 years, died in his home state of Missouri on October 13, 2019. He was 56.
At least 56 organizations and 103 individuals faced prosecution in 2018 under "anti-missionary" restrictions first imposed in 2016, according to Forum 18. Prosecutions have continued in 2019, including two Baptists punished for offering religious literature at a bus stop.
MOSCOW (RNS) — A Russian court has sentenced a Danish member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to six years on extremism charges in a case that has triggered widespread international criticism. A human rights organization warned that the imprisonment of Christensen could trigger a “wave” of arrests
WASHINGTON (RNS) — In an unsealed affidavit this week charging 29-year-old Mariia Butina with “conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation” was buried a