Tag Archives: Russia & Far Eastern Europe

Religion + Belief

Russia News | Atheists

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Russian man faces possible year in jail after denying the existence of God online
  • Viktor Krasnov was charged in response to an online exchange in which he described the Bible as a “collection of Jewish fairy tales” and said “there is no God.”
  • Following the jailing of punk rock group Pussy Riots in 2012, lawmakers passed legislation that criminalized “insult[ing] the religious convictions or feelings of citizens.”
  • Despite Russia’s constitutional status as a secular state, President Vladimir Putin has led a campaign to promote traditional religious values to consolidate Russian national identity, long tied to the Russian Orthodox Church prior to the rise of the Soviet Union.

Read more:
“Russian Man Could Be Jailed For Saying God Doesn’t Exist” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
“Russian Faces Up to Year in Prison for Denying Existence of God” (NBC News)
“Russian man in court for ‘no God’ Internet exchange” (AFP, via GlobalPost)

(Image Credit: via Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Lithuania Feature | Muslims

Lithuania’s Muslims

Lithuania’s Muslim Tatar community has inhabited Lithuania for more than six centuries, nearly as long as it has existed as a unified nation. That has not prevented contemporary politicians from joining the other Baltic nations in debating legislation perceived as anti-Islam or ignoring the long history of Muslims in the country while disparaging Muslim refugees. The Economist takes a brief look at this history and the contemporary debates about national identity driving immigration and humanitarian action.

Read more:
“The Mosques of Lithuania” (The Economist)

(Image Credit: Martynas Zaremba/The Economist)

Other

Russia Feature | Adoptive Families

The Assisted Families of Russia

Image Credit: Irina Yakobson/The Moscow Times
Image Credit: Irina Yakobson/The Moscow Times

The Moscow Times delves into the intricate process of adoption in Russia, highlighting the legal and psychological challenges faced in a country that sees relatively high levels of adoption, but also high failure and dissolution rates. Couples discuss their attempts to celebrate their families and increase the visibility of adoption in Russia as the nation closes many of its doors to international adoption.

Read the full feature at The Moscow Times.

Sexual + Gender Minorities
Clashes erupt between marchers and ultra-right nationalists at Pride march in Kiev.
  • Nine (including five police officers) were injured among the 300 marching in the parade.
  • The march was only the second of its kind in Ukraine’s post-Soviet era.
  • President Petro Poroshenko had stated earlier that while he would not be attending, the marchers were constitutionally guaranteed the right to march and should not be disrupted.

More on this story at VICE.

(Image Credit: Roman Pilipey/EPA, via VICE)