Source: Forum18, August 20, 2025
Courts in Russia have prohibited the activities of several Council of Churches Baptist communities because of their refusal to seek any form of state registration. Prosecutors are seeking similar bans on at least another three, Forum 18 has found. Once a court ruling enters legal force, church leaders are at risk of fines if they continue to conduct worship services, and bailiffs may seal church buildings, preventing access by congregations.
One community, in Kurganinsk in Krasnodar Region, has been regularly meeting for worship outside its building for over three months since officials sealed it in May.
Read the full story. Long but thought-provoking. The government is likely to consider a piece of legislation that would bring further restrictions in its next session, which begins in September.
See also a first-person report from the National Prayer Breakfast recently held in Kyiv, Ukraine (Evangelical Focus).