Now in Russia

On January 8, 2011, in the village of Pravokumskoye (Stavropol) a report was filed with the police regarding the actions of a local Russian Orthodox priest who spoke offensively to women he realized were Jehovah’s...

Russian court to resume trial of Jehovah’s Witnesses leader

A court in the Siberian town of Gorno-Altaisk will resume on Tuesday hearings in the trial against the leader of a local branch of Jehovah's Witnesses for circulating extremist materials, the court's spokesman said.Alexander Kalistratov,...

Russia uses extremism law to target dissenters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - When armed Russian security officers forced their way into Alexander Kalistratov's home, he hardly imagined they were after his books.The local leader of a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Siberia now faces...

Arson attacks on places of worship in Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia?The harassment of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia continued in November 2010 with several acts of vandalism against their houses of worship. In the Irkutsk Region and Krasnodar Territory, arson attacks were carried out...

RUSSIA: First post-Soviet criminal trial of Jehovah’s Witness “ludicrous”

RUSSIA: First post-Soviet criminal trial of Jehovah's Witness "ludicrous"The first post-Soviet criminal trial in Russia of a Jehovah's Witness for sharing beliefs with others – which may conclude as soon as 17 December – is...

Deaths result in religious controversy

Two tragic events have attracted public attention to the way the Jehovah’s Witnesses denomination operates in Russia. While members of the group allege discrimination by the government, many Russians, including religion experts, are hostile to...

RUSSIA: Jehovah’s Witness war veteran prosecuted for extremism

An 85-year-old veteran of the Second World War is the first Russian Jehovah's Witness known to have been prosecuted for "production and distribution of extremist materials", Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The prosecution is...

Deaf in Russia to get their own Bible

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—More than 3,000 deaf people from all corners of the country attended a special meeting earlier this month and learned that for the first time a complete translation of the Bible will be...

Brazen predawn attack on house of worship in Kabardino-Balkaria

Brazen predawn attack on house of worship in Kabardino-BalkariaA wave of harassment unleashed in Russia leads to dramatic consequencesNARTKALA, Kabardino-Balkaria—Unidentified masked assailants beat up the watchmen inside a place of worship, and after the watchmen...

Women arrested while preaching near Moscow

Two are held in jail for weeks on false charges of burglaryLOBNYA, Russia—More than six weeks after two female Jehovah’s Witnesses were arrested while preaching, they are still being held in jail on the false...

Court raps Russia for Jehovah’s Witnesses closure

The European rights court ruled Thursday that Moscow's 2004 dissolution of a branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses was unjustified and ordered Russia to pay 70,000 euros in damages and costs.The European Court of Human Rights...

Jehovah’s Witnesses Arrested For Extremism In Russia

(NewsCore) - A group of Jehovah's Witnesses was arrested in Russia for alleged extremism, RIA Novosti said Friday.They were held in the southwestern Siberian city of Omsk on suspicion of circulating books and pamphlets banned...

History repeats in Russia as authorities intensify searches

History repeats in Russia as authorities intensify searchesCHELYABINSK, Russia—On one day, May 12, 2010, at least 11 searches were carried out at the work places and apartments of Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as in buildings...