Both the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church have expressed concern over the increase in membership of new and minority faiths in Russia. Major membership gains have been made by some groups, particularly by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons.

Born-Again Non-Christians: Post-Soviet Sects Attract Minds and Rubles

[Presenter] Spiritual bidders for the electorate are also suffering defeats. The chief rabbi of Russia, Berl Lazar, has called on the authorities to ban religious sects in the country as soon as possible. As is known, the Orthodox Church has been actively calling for a ban on many sects for a long time. The number of new religious organizations in Russia has increased a hundred-fold over the past 10 years. According to different reports, there are currently up to 5,000 of them.

MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) - From 200 to 500 religious sects are currently operating in Russia, depending on what kind of organizations can be considered sects, Russian Inter-Religious Council Executive Secretary Roman Silantyev told a press conference in Moscow on Friday.

Suspected of racism, the sect of Old Believers-Inglinists in Omsk appeals to European Court for Human Rights.

MOSCOW. April 28 (Interfax) - Russia's chief rabbi Berl Lazar has proposed passing a federal law banning the activities of religious sects.

The majority of Russians, 57%, admit that faith plays an important role in their life, while 40% of them do not think much about it.

Moscow (CNSNews.com) - Government and religious officials in Russia are pressing for a campaign against "totalitarian sects," which threaten national security, they claim.

Totalitarian sects exist only for money and power

A Moscow court on Friday found U.S. missionary Andrew Okhotin guilty of trying to smuggle $48,000 through Sheremetyevo Airport and handed down a suspended sentence of six months, as requested by prosecutors.

New York Times, July 27, 2002

The Moscow Times, July 23, 2002