Religious Persecution in the Soviet Union – Part II

This hearing consisted of a meeting of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations and the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East. The chair of the former Subcommittee presided over the hearing, which was a continuation of an earlier investigation into religious persecution in the former U.S.S.R.

Through the earlier counterpart of this hearing, attendees found that pervasive and brutal repression continued against the Jewish population, particularly those interested in emigrating. In Part II of this set of hearings, though, what attendees examined was how the former U.S.S.R. treated Christians, Muslims, and others who wanted to exercise their fundamental right of religious expression. While the Soviet Union made some progress towards advancing human rights in this regard, such as allowing some of their citizens to join relatives in the United States, the Soviet Union continued to have in place an extensive system to control religious activity.