Thread: Religion in Russia and the ex-Soviet countries

Originally Posted by Юрка

У нас запрещаются секты, опасные для людей... Если же культ не требует кончать с собой и отдавать квартиры секте, то их не запрещают.

But this is a relatively new development, isn't it? I mean, my impression is that historically -- both in pre-Revolutionary times and in the Soviet era -- there was a lot of discrimination by the State against any sect that did not have "long historical roots in Russia," which in practice excluded many Protestant churches.

And perhaps the real reason was not that these newer sects were truly опасные для людей, but that they were опасные для гегемонии Православной церкви! (After all, some Evangelical Protestant sects make it very simple and quick for an adult "convert" to join the church, whereas conversion to Catholicism or Judaism can take a couple years of mandatory study.)