Russia: Information on the treatment of Russian Orthodox Christians, particularly in the workplaces and schools

In telephone interviews on 20 and 25 March 1996, the director of the Institute for East-West Christian Studies who specialises in the history of religion in Russia and eastern Europe at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, provided the following information. Orthodox Christianity is the predominant religion in Russia, and the overall situation of Orthodox Christians is generally favourable. Nevertheless, there are three areas in which the rights of Orthodox Christians may be viewed as unfavourable.

There are between 30 and 200 Orthodox parishes in Russia that are attempting to dissociate (or have dissociated) from the Patriarchate in Moscow, and are trying to align their parishes with Orthodox communities abroad. The Patriarchate and the parishes have argued over who has ownership of the breakaway parishes. There is evidence at the local level that government officials are siding with the Patriarchate in the dispute over property rights. Consequently, the breakaway parishes are losing their church property.

There are a small number of Russian priests within the Orthodox Church who have attempted to use the Russian language for the liturgy, as a replacement for Old Church Slavonic. As a result, several Russian priests have lost their parishes or have been reassigned to remote parishes. This conflict appears to be confined to the Church, and there is no evidence of state involvement in this matter.

In Tatarstan, there have been instances of discrimination against Orthodox Christians by the Moslems, who constitute a majority. Some of the Orthodox churches, which should have been returned to the Orthodox Church after the demise of communism, continue to be withheld from the Church.

The director has not heard of any reports that Orthodox Christians are being harassed in schools or workplaces on account of their religious beliefs.

In a telephone interview on 22 March 1996, the director of the Keston Institute in Oxford, which is dedicated to the study of religion in Russia and the associate states, provided the following information. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the director has not heard of any instances of Orthodox Christians being subjected to violence due to their religious beliefs, or being harassed or discriminated against in workplaces or schools on account of their religious beliefs.

For additional information on the situation of Orthodox Christians in Russia, please consult the attachment sent to the DIRB on 26 March 1996 by a research analyst who specialises in Russian social issues at Prague's Open Media Research Institute (OMRI), a research enterprise dedicated to the study of the former Soviet Union and east-central and southeastern Europe; please also consult the other attachments.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

 References

Institute for East-West Christian Studies, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. 25 March 1996. Telephone interview with director.

_____. 20 March 1996. Telephone interview with director.

Keston Institute, Oxford, England. 22 March 1996. Telephone interview with director.

Attachments

ITAR-TASS News Agency [Moscow, in Russian]. 25 October 1995. "Chechnya: Russian Orthodox Priest Beaten Up in Grozny." (BBC Summary 26 Oct. 1995/NEXIS)

Open Media Research Institute (OMRI), Prague. 26 March 1996. Facsimile sent to the DIRB by research analyst.

Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions. 20 December 1994. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, pp. 8-10.