ICC NOTE: As Russia’s new anti-religion law comes into effect, Christians both in Russia and elsewhere begin to react towards what will be the inevitable. The Kremlin will state it is to curb radical Islamic terror, but it appears the law was not very specific in that matter. It merely became a broad stroke of the pen covering nearly all religions and making any sort of evangelism to be against the law without the proper papers. Limiting church activity to the building itself, the laws are the worst toward Christianity in Russia since the Post Stalin era of the Soviet Union.
7/22/2016 Russia (Christian Today) – Russia’s new anti-terrorism laws, which include measures imposing sweeping restrictions on Christian evangelising and teaching the faith, have officially come into force.
The ‘Yaroyava’ package, named after their sponsor in the Russian Duma, has been fiercely condemned both by Russian Christians and rights activists and internationally. It makes house churches illegal and limits religious activity to registered buildings.
According to Russia’s Council of Churches-Baptists, the laws will “create conditions for the repression of all Christians”. The council said in an open letter: “Any person who mentions their religious view or reflections out loud or puts them in writing, without the relevant documents, could be accused of illegal missionary activity.”
Another open letter, from the Protestant Churches of Russia, said the laws were “the most draconian anti-religion bill to be proposed in Russia since Nikita Khrushchev promised to eliminate Christianity in the Soviet Union”.
One of the signatories to the letter, Mission Eurasia president Sergey Rakhuba, said in a statement from the organisation: “We don’t know yet how these laws will be implemented, but it is already clear that they are achieving their goal of creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion within society, while allowing the government to restrict freedom in violation of the Constitution and international norms.
