On 10 September, a Moscow Region court convicted a researcher for one of Russia's leading freedom of religion and belief monitors of participating in the activities of an "undesirable organisation". The judge handed her the maximum possible fine for a private individual. Prosecutors had accused Olga Sibiryova of the Moscow-based Sova Centre for Information and Analysis of collaborating with the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance (IRFBA, ruled "undesirable" in 2024). The Sova Centre says neither it nor Sibiryova has ever interacted with the IRFBA.

A repeat offence could lead to criminal prosecution, with a maximum 4-year jail term (see below).

Prosecutors appeared to have initiated Sibiryova's prosecution on the grounds of citation of her publicly accessible research reports in IRFBA's own materials. This is "the first time such a surprising interpretation of the offence defined under [Administrative Code] Article 20.33 has been encountered", according to Sova (see below).

In court, prosecutors based the case on "expert analysis" which claimed that Sibiryova was "an engaged agent within a network" of international organisations linked to IRFBA, rendering "systematic expert-informational support" and serving as "a significant provider of data for one of the key institutional actors influencing the activities of IRFBA – the US Commission on International Religious Freedom" (see below).

The expert analysis "failed to cite a single instance in which IRFBA had actually used publications by Sibiryova or the Sova Centre", Sova commented in its statement on the case on 10 September. "Such a method of 'proving' a connection between an individual and an organisation goes far beyond the realm of common sense" (see below).

Mikhail Bezborodov, a political scientist at Petrozavodsk State University who provided "expert analysis" for Sibiryova's prosecution, did not respond to Forum 18's questions. Naro-Fominsk Prosecutor's Office and Moscow Regional Prosecutor's Office similarly did not respond to Forum 18's questions, including on why prosecutors initiated the case solely on the grounds that an "undesirable" organisation allegedly used publicly available materials without the author's knowledge (see below).

Other recent prosecutions for participating in the activities of an "undesirable organisation" reviewed by Forum 18 appear to be based on minimal or unknowing "participation". Many are based on the presence on church premises of material published by US-based Protestant missionary body Mission Eurasia. Russia's General Prosecutor's Office named Mission Eurasia an "undesirable organisation" on 30 April 2026. The Justice Ministry added it to the register of "undesirable organisations" two weeks later (see below).

A court in Moscow fined both the Golgotha Baptist church and its pastor, Pyotr Mitskevich, for the presence of a single copy of a Mission Eurasia Bible inside a church office, found during a Prosecutor's Office inspection. Butyrsky Inter-District Prosecutor's Office, Moscow City Prosecutor's Office, and Butyrsky District Court did not respond to Forum 18's questions, including on whether the seized book has been destroyed (as happened in a Moscow Region town earlier this year) (see below).

In the town of Vladimir, the same court fined both Protestant pastor Roman Usmanov and Baptist pastor Andrey Butorin for "distribution" of various Mission Eurasia books and pamphlets. Forum 18 wrote to Vladimir City Prosecutor's Office and Lenin District Court asking whether the literature seized in the inspections is going to be destroyed. Lenin District Court press service responded, refusing to answer Forum 18's question. Prosecutors did not respond (see below).

A court in St Petersburg fined Apostolic Orthodox Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko for reposting a video of himself giving an interview to Novaya Gazeta.Europe more than eight months before the Justice Ministry added the independent media outlet to its register of "undesirable organisations", and more than three years before prosecutors opened the case. Because Mikhnov-Vaytenko had not deleted the post in the interim, prosecutors classified it as an "ongoing offence" (see below).

St Petersburg's Central District Prosecutor's Office and the City's Prosecutor's Office did not respond to Forum 18's question as to why the Archbishop's "Prison, War and Faith" Telegram channel was subject to Federal Security Service (FSB) monitoring (see below).

If the General Prosecutor's Office decides that a foreign or international organisation poses a threat in Russia's political and security sphere, it can order it to be added to the Justice Ministry's register of "undesirable organisations". Inclusion in this list shuts down a legal entity immediately and bars individuals' involvement with it, even outside Russia (see below).

"In practice, independent media outlets, as well as political, human rights, religious, educational, research, and other projects, are designated 'undesirable' for simply carrying out their lawful activities," human rights monitor OVD-Info notes (see below).

The General Prosecutor's Office has declared "undesirable" more than 20 religiously-affiliated foreign organisations - religious bodies, religious media, missionary, or educational organisations, or non-governmental organisations with religious links or which promote freedom of religion and belief. These include Jehovah's Witness, Falun Gong and Protestant organisations (see below).

Charges and punishments

Administrative Code Article 20.33 punishes "Participation in the activities of a foreign or international organisation whose activities have been declared undesirable within the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, or violation of prohibitions established by Federal Law No. 272-FZ of 28 December 2012 'On Measures Against Persons Involved in Violations of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation'".

This Article carries the following penalties: for individuals – a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 Roubles; for people in an official capacity – 20,000 to 50,000 Roubles; for legal entities – 50,000 to 100,000 Roubles; staff of election commissions are disqualified for one year. A fine of 100,000 Roubles represents about six weeks' average wage.

The law on "undesirable organisations" includes a ban on "the dissemination of information materials issued by a foreign or international [undesirable] organisation and/or disseminated by it – including via mass media and/or using the Internet information and telecommunication network – as well as the production or storage of such materials for the purpose of dissemination".

A repeat offence under Article 20.33 may lead to criminal prosecution under Criminal Code Article 284.1, Part 1 ("Participation in the activities of a foreign or international organisation whose activities have been declared undesirable within the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, committed by a person who has been subjected to an administrative penalty for a similar act").

Penalties for this include: a fine of 300,000 to 500,000 Roubles; up to 360 hours' compulsory labour [obyazatelniye raboty]; up to 4 years' assigned labour [prinuditelniye raboty] with up to 2 years' possible restriction of freedom [ogranicheniye svobody]; or 1 to 4 years' imprisonment with a possible ban on "holding certain offices or engaging in certain activities" for up to 10 years.

(Criminal Code Article 284.1 also includes Part 2, which covers the financing of "undesirable organisations", and Part 3, which covers the organisation of their activities.)

Moscow Region: Researcher's fine for "systematic expert-informational support for activities of transnational network"

On 10 September 2026, Naro-Fominsk City Court in Moscow Region convicted Olga Sibiryova, a researcher at the Moscow-based Sova Centre for Information and Analysis, of "participation in the activities of an undesirable organisation" – apparently because the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), the US Commission on Religious Freedom, and potentially other unnamed organisations in a vaguely defined "transnational information infrastructure" had used her publicly available reports in their own work.

The Court fined Sibiryova 15,000 Roubles, the maximum punishment for an individual under Administrative Code Article 20.33 ("Participation in the activities of a foreign or international organisation whose activities have been declared undesirable"), according to the decision seen by Forum 18. The fine represents about one week's average wage.

The Sova Centre considers the charge to be "completely false", and based on the "bizarre speculations" of the political scientist who provided "expert analysis" to the prosecution.

"The ruling initiating the case indicated that her 'participation in the activities' of IRFBA consisted merely of the fact that the alliance had made use of Sibiryova's publications. This appears to be the first time such a surprising interpretation of the offence defined in Article 20.33 has been encountered", Sova noted on 10 September. "We maintain that a person cannot be charged with an offence solely on the basis of actions taken by another party without their consent or coordination. Neither Sibiryova herself nor the Sova Centre as a whole has ever had any contact with IRFBA."

Sibiryova left Russia shortly before the court hearing and remains outside the country. Her lawyer has lodged an appeal on her behalf, which the city court passed to Moscow Regional Court on 26 October, according to the former's website.

Sibiryova has worked for the Sova Centre, Russia's leading organisation monitoring freedom of religion and belief violations, for over sixteen years. Among other work, she produces the Centre's annual reports on such violations in Russia.

The Justice Ministry added the Sova Centre to its register of "foreign agents" in 2016, and went to court to have it liquidated as a legal entity in 2023. It has since operated as an unregistered group of researchers.

The International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance describes itself as "a network of like-minded countries fully committed to advancing freedom of religion or belief around the world", which "brings together senior government representatives to discuss actions their nations can take together to promote respect for freedom of religion or belief and protect members of religious minority groups". The US State Department coordinates its activities. Its website has not been updated since 2024, and many links appear to be broken.

On 25 December 2024, Russia's General Prosecutor's Office named the Alliance an "undesirable organisation". The Justice Ministry added it to its register of "undesirable organisations" on 17 January 2025.

According to Mikhail Bezborodov, a political scientist at Petrozavodsk State University who provided "expert analysis" for the prosecution, Sibiryova "uses her publications for direct informational and conceptual defence of the policies of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)". He claims that, in her 2025 report on religious freedom in Russia, Sibiryova "opposes the designation of IRFBA as an 'undesirable organisation', falsely classifying this transnational political alliance as a 'religious organisation', and condemns the actions taken by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation".

(In this report, Sibiryova simply states – without comment - that IRFBA, along with Brigham Young University and German charity "Peace Unto All", has been declared an "undesirable organisation".)

Nevertheless, Bezborodov takes this as evidence that Sibiryova "acts not as an academic scholar specialising in research on the sociology of religion, but as an engaged agent within a network, defending its coordination infrastructure", and "serves as a significant provider of data for one of the key institutional actors influencing the activities of IRFBA – the [US] Commission on International Religious Freedom".

Bezborodov concedes that Sibiryova "does not occupy a central position in the process of formulating or implementing the alliance's policies". Nevertheless, he repeatedly describes her alleged participation in IRFBA as "systematic", and states that she "plays a consistent role as a provider and interpreter of information about the religious situation in Russia, whose materials are regularly incorporated into the expert discourse of key structures that influence the alliance's activities" and are "in steady demand within the transnational network associated with [IRFBA]".

Prosecutors argued that Sibiryova "acts not as an outside observer, but as a functional node within a distributed network, serving as infrastructural, epistemic support and a structural-informational partner", provides "informational legitimation and defence of this 'undesirable' organisation [IRFBA] within the public sphere", and "serves as a functional element of the Alliance's external civil-expert framework, generating a specialised product", and playing "a consistent, indirect role in providing expertise and information".

In the written court decision, seen by Forum 18, neither Bezborodov nor the Prosecutor's Office names any other organisations or individuals in the alleged "network" linked to IRFBA, apart from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Nor does the court decision cite any specific instances of IRFBA or any other organisation using Sibiryova's work.

"Bezborodov, without any supporting evidence, invented the existence of an entire network of various Western organisations allegedly linked to IRFBA. He then claimed to have found references to Sibiryova's work within these disparate entities", the Sova Centre wrote in its statement on the case on 10 September. "This method of 'proving' a connection between an individual and an organisation falls well outside the bounds of common sense".

Dmitry Goncharov is a political scientist from the Higher School of Economics who provided expert analysis for the defence. He argued that Bezborodov's analysis "does not meet the most basic criteria for scientific expert analysis" and "and generally replaces scientific reasoning with biased speculation".

Forum 18 wrote to Mikhail Bezborodov on 27 October, seeking to clarify where and by whom Sibiryova's work had allegedly been cited, and what evidence he had that she had consciously provided information to IRFBA, rather than simply published reports which the Alliance may later have quoted without her knowledge. Forum 18 had received no response by the end of the working day in Petrozavodsk of 29 October.

Forum 18 has repeatedly put questions about Sibiryova's case in writing to Naro-Fominsk Prosecutor's Office and Moscow Regional Prosecutor's Office, including:
- on what materials from the Alliance, or other organisations within the so-called "network", was the administrative case based?
- why did prosecutors initiate the case solely on the grounds that an "undesirable" organisation allegedly used publicly available materials without the author's knowledge? In what way does this constitute participation or cooperation?
- why does the publication of research reports on a publicly accessible website mean that Sibiryova is a "significant provider of data" for IRFBA and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom – to the extent that she has been held administratively liable?
Forum 18 had received no response by the end of the working day in Naro-Fominsk of 29 October.

Forum 18 put the same questions to Naro-Fominsk City Court on 21 October, asking why Sibiryova was found guilty on this basis. Forum 18 had received no response by the end of the working day in Naro-Fominsk of 29 October.

St Petersburg: Apostolic Orthodox Archbishop fined for video

On 22 September, Smolny District Court in St Petersburg found Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko guilty under Administrative Code Article 20.33 ("Participation in the activities of a foreign or international organisation whose activities have been declared undesirable") for reposting a video of himself giving an interview to Novaya Gazeta.Europe. Judge Yekaterina Mezentseva issued the minimum fine of 5,000 Roubles. The Archbishop has lodged an appeal, which the district court registered on 27 October, according to its website.

Archbishop Mikhnov-Vaytenko is leader of the Apostolic Orthodox Church, which was founded in 2000 by Gleb Yakunin (whom the Moscow Patriarchate had defrocked and excommunicated after he published information on the Soviet-era links between it and the KGB). It is not in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. He has consistently opposed Russia's war against Ukraine and helped Ukrainian refugees inside Russia. In July 2024, the Justice Ministry named him a "foreign agent".

"The court (along with the St Petersburg Central District Prosecutor's Office) was placed in an impossible position in which even imposing a fine of 5,000 Roubles looked like an act of defiance," Mikhnov-Vaytenko wrote on his Telegram channel on 23 September 2026. "The problem is that the materials from the operational-investigative activities were provided to the prosecutor's office by none other than the 'Second Service of the FSB [Federal Security Service]', a 'fearsome beast' to which no one in our Russian land dares to object. But *I* object!"

Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta launched its European edition in Latvia in April 2022, shortly after suspending its Russian operations in response to official censorship after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Roskomnadzor blocked its website in Russia almost immediately.

Novaya Gazeta.Europe interviewed the Archbishop about the practical and spiritual help he and his church were providing to Ukrainians who had fled to Russia. It posted the video on its YouTube channel on 5 November 2022 under the title "Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko on anti-humanity, faith, and helping refugees". The Apostolic Orthodox Church's Telegram channel posted a link to the interview, also on 5 November 2022, and Mikhnov-Vaytenko himself reposted this on his own "Prison, War and Faith" Telegram channel the same day.

The General Prosecutor's Office declared Novaya Gazeta.Europe an "undesirable organisation" on 26 June 2023. The Justice Ministry added it to the register of "undesirable organisations" on 14 July 2023.

According to the resolution initiating the administrative prosecution, dated 9 June 2026, St Petersburg's Central District Prosecutor's Office received information from the FSB on 20 March 2026 that Mikhnov-Vaytenko had reposted the Novaya Gazeta.Europe interview.

"In this way, G. A. Mikhnov-Vaytenko disseminated material of the foreign organisation BDR Novaja Gazeta-Europe [sic] .. (Latvian Republic), the activity of which has been deemed undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation, by which means participation in this organisation's activity was effected".

Despite the fact that Mikhnov-Vaytenko had posted the link to the video before Novaya Gazeta.Europe had been ruled an "undesirable organisation", and that more than three years passed before the FSB became aware of it, prosecutors still opened a case on the grounds that the offence was deemed to be "ongoing", as the post remained publicly accessible on the "Prison, War and Faith" Telegram channel as of 5 June 2026.

According to Article 4.5, Part 2 of the Administrative Code, for an "ongoing" offence, the two-year statute of limitations on Article 20.33 "shall begin to run from the day the administrative offence is discovered" – in this instance, "the moment the specified unlawful material was discovered, 17.45 on 20 March 2026", the resolution noted.

Archbishop Mikhnov-Vaytenko represented himself in court, the Slovo i Zashchite Telegram channel reported on 22 September. "It is my interview; I did give it. The fact that I failed to keep track of it and did not delete it – yes, I accept responsibility for that. But the material was deleted a long time ago," Mikhnov-Vaytenko said.

Forum 18 wrote to Central District Prosecutor's Office and St Petersburg City Prosecutor's Office on 21 October, asking why the Archbishop's "Prison, War and Faith" Telegram channel was subject to Federal Security Service (FSB) monitoring. Forum 18 had received no response by the end of the working day in St Petersburg of 29 October.

General Prosecutor's Office names Mission Eurasia "undesirable organisation"

Russia's General Prosecutor's Office named Mission Eurasia an "undesirable organisation" on 30 April 2026. The Justice Ministry added it to the register of "undesirable organisations" on 13 May 2026, likely because of its open support for Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion.

Mission Eurasia was founded in 1991 by American Protestant pastor Peter Deyneka to evangelise in the former Soviet Union. It now trains local Protestant leaders in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Israel, who then engage in church planting and evangelism in workplaces and schools. It also publishes and distributes translations of the Bible and what it calls "strategic Christian books and resources".

It is common for Protestant churches and educational institutions to possess Bibles and other literature published by Mission Eurasia, even if they have no other relationship to the organisation.

In 2017, Russia's Deputy General Prosecutor stated in a letter to the Culture Minister (No. 27/3-491-2015/Нд26284-17) that, firstly, "It is necessary to distinguish between materials that disclose the content and results of an 'undesirable' organisation's activities, and works by well-known authors that were merely republished or distributed by such an organisation as part of humanitarian projects", and secondly, "If the organisation is not the author of the works and their content is unrelated to the activities of the 'undesirable' organisation, the possession of such books cannot be considered a violation of the law and does not require their seizure".

Nevertheless, as soon as Mission Eurasia was included in the register of "undesirable organisations" in May, prosecutors began inspecting churches, religious educational institutions, and religious bookshops. Prosecutors seized literature and initiated administrative cases, even when these involved only copies of the Bible. A Moscow court fined a Baptist pastor in June and ordered Bibles and other literature destroyed. Another Moscow court fined Baptist leader Pyotr Mitskevich in July for literature in the Baptist seminary library. And in August, a St Petersburg court fined the St Petersburg Christian University.

Moscow: Church and Pastor both fined for single Bible

In September 2026, Butyrsky District Court in Moscow heard cases under Administrative Code Article 20.33 ("Participation in the activities of a foreign or international organisation whose activities have been declared undesirable") against Golgotha Baptist church and its pastor Pyotr Mitskevich. The Court found both guilty in separate prosecutions for the same alleged offence – the presence of a single copy of an illustrated New Testament, published by Mission Eurasia.

Judge Olga Sudyina fined the church 50,000 Roubles on 7 September, and Pastor Mitskevich 20,000 Roubles on 10 September. (Pastor Mitskevich was held liable "in the capacity of an official who failed to ensure proper oversight of the organisation's activities", according to the court decision.) The ruling against the church entered legal force on 6 October 2026, according to the Moscow court system's online portal. Pastor Mitskevich lodged an appeal against his own conviction on 21 October 2026.

From the written court decisions, seen by Forum 18, Prosecutor's Office staff appear to have inspected the church in summer 2026, during which they found a copy of "The Bible in action. New Testament". This appears to be an illustrated version of the Bible produced for children by Mission Eurasia. (The Russian State Library in Moscow lists the book on its online catalogue as a "Restricted Access Document".)

Officials claimed that the book was in the church's library, but a parishioner called as a witness at Mitskevich's hearing stated that it was in fact inside the pastor's office, which was kept locked.

Judge Sudyina dismissed this on the grounds that the church administrator also had a key to the office, concluding that it was therefore "accessible to third parties". "The presence of a locking device does not necessarily mean that a storage location is inaccessible, if multiple persons have access to it and the storage arrangements do not ensure exclusive control by the owner," the judge concluded.

At both hearings, Pastor Mitskevich testified that he had issued a formal order to the church administrator on 14 May (the day Mission Eurasia was added to the "undesirable organisations" register) "to review printed materials" and discard anything prohibited – an order which was not properly carried out.

The judge concluded on both occasions that this meant that the church and its pastor were aware of potential violations of the law, but had failed to exercise due diligence in ensuring the order was fulfilled.

"Thus, Pastor [Mitskevich], while acting within the scope of his official duties, did not properly carry out his organisational and administrative functions, which resulted in the continued presence of prohibited materials in the organisation's library. This constitutes the objective element of the administrative offence stipulated in Administrative Code Article 20.33", the judge noted on 10 September.

Judge Sudyina also rejected the defence argument that Mitskevich should not have been held liable after the church, as a legal entity, had already been prosecuted for the same offence.

Forum 18 sent enquiries to Butyrsky Inter-District Prosecutor's Office, Moscow City Prosecutor's Office, and Butyrsky District Court on 23 October, asking why the church and the pastor had been prosecuted for the same offence, in what way possession of the Bible could be considered "participation in the activities of an "undesirable organisation" in light of the Deputy General Prosecutor's letter of 2017, and whether the seized book had been destroyed.

Court chair Glera Dosayeva replied on 29 October, refusing to answer these questions and directing Forum 18 to the written decisions on the Moscow court system's online portal. Forum 18 had received no response from prosecutors by the end of the working day in Moscow of 29 October.

Vladimir: Two pastors fined for Mission Eurasia literature in separate cases

In Vladimir, prosecutors conducted inspections of two churches on 1 July. They subsequently opened cases under Administrative Code Article 20.33 ("Participation in the activities of a foreign or international organisation whose activities have been declared undesirable") against both church leaders – Baptist pastor Andrey Butorin and Protestant pastor Roman Usmanov – for alleged distribution of Mission Eurasia material.

The city's Lenin District Court fined each of them 20,000 Roubles (as persons in an official position) on 29 September and 30 September respectively. This represents about 10 days' average wage.

The Prosecutor's Office inspection of Chapel at Golgotha Protestant church found 81 copies of a book called "How to Tell Children About the Gospel", as well as six copies of booklets entitled "New Testament" and "Forgiveness, Love, Word, Peace, Life, God, Truth", all published by Mission Eurasia. These were "openly accessible on shelves", according to the 30 September court decision, seen by Forum 18.

Pastor Roman Usmanov admitted guilt in court, stating that he had been aware of Mission Eurasia's designation as an "undesirable organisation". The literature in question "had been placed in a box with the intention of disposing of it. However, some copies were indeed left accessible to the public".

"Although aware of the decision made by the General Prosecutor's Office, and despite having the opportunity to comply with the rules and regulations, the violation of which entails administrative liability, Usmanov failed to take all measures within his power to ensure such compliance," Judge Anna Ryzhkova concluded. She noted Usmanov's expression of remorse and his having three underage children as mitigating factors in the case.

Unlike Usmanov, Baptist pastor Andrey Butorin denied knowing that Mission Eurasia was on the register of "undesirable organisations", though he also admitted guilt.

The Prosecutor's Office inspection of Pastor Butorin's church lasted two hours, during which officials found one book entitled "False Links in the Great Chain" and ten booklets entitled "The Gospel According to John". All of these were "freely accessible" in the church's library, according to the 30 September court decision.

Judge Irina Piskunova noted Butorin's remorse as a mitigating factor in the case.

Neither Butorin nor Usmanov appealed against his guilty verdict, and both decisions have entered legal force.

Forum 18 wrote to Vladimir City Prosecutor's Office and Lenin District Court on 23 October, asking whether the literature seized in the inspections is going to be destroyed (as has happened elsewhere). Lenin District Court press service responded on 27 October, refusing to answer Forum 18's question. Forum 18 had received no response from prosecutors by the end of the working day in Vladimir of 29 October.

Designating organisations "undesirable"

The process of designating organisations "undesirable" is governed by Article 3.1 (adopted on 23 May 2015) of the 2012 Federal Law "On measures of influence on persons involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms [and the] rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation" (known as the Dima Yakovlev Law).

This legislation applies to foreign or international non-governmental organisations which allegedly threaten Russia's constitutional order, defence capabilities, or state security – explicitly including influence on elections and referendums – or which are deemed to have acted as a financial intermediary for an "undesirable organisation" already on the list.

Once listed, an "undesirable organisation" must close all its branches in Russia and is banned both from opening more and from founding any other legal entities. It can no longer produce, distribute, or store any informational materials, online or offline, and is barred from carrying out any programmes or projects.

In 2021, Russian legal entities and citizens (plus stateless persons resident in Russia) were barred from involvement with "undesirable organisations" outside Russia (punishments for such involvement inside Russia had already been in place since 2015). In 2024, further amendments made it possible for organisations founded by foreign government bodies to be placed on the register.

"Because the law does not clearly define the criteria for designating an organisation as 'undesirable', the authorities can, in effect, ban any activity that runs counter to their interests under the guise of protecting the constitutional order", human rights monitor OVD-Info notes.

"In practice, independent media outlets, as well as political, human rights, religious, educational, research, and other projects, are designated 'undesirable' for simply carrying out their lawful activities," OVD-Info adds.

More than 20 religiously-affiliated "undesirable" organisations

The register of "undesirable organisations" currently has 391 entries. More than 20 of these are religious bodies, religious media, missionary, or educational organisations, or non-governmental organisations with religious links or which promote freedom of religion and belief.

These include: Jehovah's Witness bodies from the US, Germany, and Ukraine; Brigham Young University (which is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); Friede Allen (Peace Unto All), which supports Russian clergy who have opposed Russia's war in Ukraine; Mission Eurasia; Child Evangelism Fellowship; the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance; and seven Falun Gong or Falun Gong-linked organisations.

Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has blocked the websites of many of these organisations, including Friede Allen (Peace Unto All), Mission Eurasia, and Child Evangelism Fellowship. (END)

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia

For background information see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey

Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments

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