Status of the Russian Religious Law

Official Transcript:

Status of the Russian Religious Law.pdf

Members:

Name:

Hon. Chris Smith

Title Text:

Commissioner

Body:

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Moderator(s):

Name:

Dorothy Taft

Title Text:

Chief of Staff

Body:

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Witnesses:

Name:

Dr. James Billington

Title:

Librarian

Body:

Library of Congress

Name:

Dr. Anatoly Pchelintsev

Title:

Director

Body:

Christian Legal Center of the Institute on Religion and Law, Moscow

Name:

Rachel Denber

Title:

Deputy Director

Body:

Human Rights Watch, Europe and Central Asia Division

Name:

Micah Naftalin

Title:

National Director

Body:

Union of Councils

Congressman Chris Smith and other lawmakers criticized the Russian Federation law on freedom of conscience and religious organizations signed by Boris Yeltsin for the threats it posed to religious liberty for minority religious faith. The scope of the law, including the terms of its formal implementations regulations and its actual implementation on the ground were topics of discussions.

Those who testified at the briefing provided their insights on this law, its status at the time, and their perspective of developments in Russia in light of the law. Dr. James Billington, a distinguished author and Russian scholar, spoke to the decline in the standard of living and social services that the Russian people had suffered in the post-Soviet era. Another witness, Dr. Anatoly Pchelintsev, Director of the Christian Legal Center of the Institute on Religion and Law in Moscow, attributed the existence of the law to the tide of nationalist and Communist movements that were on the rise in Russia.

Relevant issues:

Freedom of Thought, Conscience, Religion, or Belief

Relevant countries:

Russian Federation

Leadership:

Christopher Smith