VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMO #2915/01 2751452
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 011452Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0194
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 002915 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KIRF RS
SUBJECT: MIXED REACTION TO 2008 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT ON 
RUSSIA 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Alice G. Wells for reason 1 
.4(d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  The release of the 2008 International 
Religious Freedom report sparked criticism from Russia's 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs; however, off-the-record, 
officials in the Russian Human Rights Ombudsman's office 
expressed approval, agreeing on the accuracy and validity of 
the majority of its contents.  Although he had not read the 
full report, Vsevolod Chaplin of the Russian Orthodox Church 
(ROC) welcomed the increasing accuracy of past reports and 
believed that the State Department had improved its 
understanding of the ROC.  The Moscow Branch of the Union of 
Orthodox Citizens, an organization supported by the Russian 
Orthodox Church, called for the MFA to develop an independent 
report on religious freedom, deeming the State Department 
assessment insufficient.  The publication of the report 
followed the September release of polling data on the 
groundswell (65 percent) of negative sentiment toward the 
United States, triggered by events in Georgia.  End Summary. 
 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Criticizes Report 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On September 29 the MFA issued a statement on the 
"biased" 2008 International Religious Freedom Report for 
Russia, specifically arguing that the ROC did not receive 
preferential treatment from the government and that religious 
organizations were expected to abide by Russian law, just as 
in other countries.  The press release compared Russia's 
designation of Orthodox Christmas as a national holiday to 
the United States' official observance of the "Roman 
Catholic" Christmas, and called the U.S. stance 
"hypocritical."  The MFA press release dismissed accounts of 
discrimination against religious groups as "gossip" and 
highlighted the report's acknowledgment of Russia's existing 
policy providing for freedom of religion.  The MFA painted 
the report as ignorant of Russian religious issues, pointing 
to the coexistence of Orthodoxy and Islam in Russia for more 
than 1,000 years, the rapid rebirth and government support of 
traditional Russian religious groups, and a swift rise in 
nontraditional groups as proof of religious freedom on the 
ground here.  While critical, the fact that the MFA addressed 
our charges and pocketed our acknowledgment of the growth of 
religious organizations served to underscore the value of the 
IRF report. 
 
Human Rights Ombudsman's Office Calls IRF "Reasonable" 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶3. (C) The 2008 IRF Report received mixed reviews from 
leading Russian religious and human rights figures.  Deputy 
Chief of Staff to the Human Rights Ombudsman Georgiy Kunadze 
told us on September 24 that the 2008 IRF seemed "reasonable" 
and "more or less correct."  He praised the thoroughness of 
the document, citing examples that he found to be useful and 
informative, but also disagreed with and questioned smaller 
points that he found arguable, including statistical data. 
Kunadze specifically stressed that there were not 100 million 
Orthodox citizens in Russia; rather, 100 million ethnic 
Russians who saw themselves as Orthodox lived in Russia, 
although less than 10 percent of them were practicing. 
Kunadze also drew attention in our meeting, as the MFA did in 
its statement, to the designation of Orthodox religious 
holidays as official state holidays.  He compared the English 
government's recognition of Anglican Church holidays to 
Russia's stance on Orthodoxy.  He confessed that the IRF 
complicated the work of the Human Rights Ombudsman (HRO) 
office because the HRO usually used the same information in 
its own report on Russia's human rights situation, yet 
received criticism from government officials for appearing to 
agree implicitly with U.S. views.  Kunadze expressed interest 
in working more closely with us on future reports, and 
welcomed any feedback on the HRO submission due at the end of 
¶2008. 
 
ROC is Cautiously Positive on Report 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) While ROC officials had not released an official 
appraisal of the 2008 IRF report, initial reactions from 
church officials indicated cautious approval.  Deputy 
Chairman of External Relations for the Moscow Patriarchate 
Vsevolod Chaplin told us October 1 that IRF reports from the 
past three to four years had more accurately portrayed the 
situation in Russia, and should the 2008 report not radically 
differ, he doubted that the Church would criticize it 
strongly.  Chaplin commented that the ROC disagreed with the 
IRF report on certain statistics, but these issues were minor 
compared to past misunderstandings about the interpretation 
of Russian legislation that supposedly favored the ROC over 
 
other religious groups.  He outlined Russia's 
religious-demographic delineation, calculating that 65 to 70 
percent of Russians are Orthodox, of whom one-third are 
"devout."  He added that one-third of the self-described 
Orthodox population remained unsure of their beliefs, but 
their numbers continued to dwindle.  Additionally, the ROC 
baptized approximately 80 percent of all Russians, a 
tradition still held even by atheists. 
 
¶5. (C) Chaplin added that the Russian government's 
recognition of Orthodox Christmas, a point mentioned in the 
IRF report, did not signify preferential treatment.  He 
elaborated on the issue, believing that governments held the 
right to honor religious traditions, an the absence of state 
involvement in religion is a "myth" and "not realistic."  He 
also reported that his superior, Chairman for External 
Relations for the ROC Metropolitan Kirill, opposed the calls 
of "radical Muslims" to remove Orthodox Christmas from 
Russia's list of official holidays as well as criticism of 
Russia's Day of Unity, held in honor of Russia's 17th century 
defeat of Polish invaders yet also coinciding with the 
anniversary of a famous Orthodox feast.  Chaplin believed 
that all Russian religious groups, as a sign of unity and the 
freedom of worship, should come together on the Day of Unity 
in joint celebration. 
 
Union of Orthodox Citizens Presses MFA for Own Report 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) According to an Interfax News Agency statement on 
September 30, the Moscow branch of the Union of Orthodox 
Citizens (UOC), known for its vehement defense of the ROC in 
Russia and Ukraine, urged the MFA to monitor global religious 
freedom and human rights, and to publish its own report as an 
alternative to those of the State Department.  UOC 
representatives blamed the United States for restricting 
freedom of speech and political engagement for Christian 
groups inside the USA, noting that students are deprived of 
religious education in public schools.  The UOC also claimed 
that the U.S. State Department failed to report violations of 
religious freedom in Ukraine, specifically concerning the 
proposed schism of the Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates of the 
ROC.  The UOC has opposed a proposal by deputy chairman of 
the State Duma Security Committee Vladimir Kolesnikov to 
reestablish the monument to Feliks Dzerzhinsky, originally 
erected in 1958, in front of the FSB headquarters on Lubyanka 
Square in downtown Moscow.  Calling the Dzerzhinsky statue a 
"symbol of Bolshevik Russophobia" to the approval of the ROC, 
the UOC proposed that an alternate statue of a holy protector 
be put in its place. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) The totality of responses from different religious, 
human rights, and government officials in Russia pointed to a 
general consensus that the 2008 IRF report delivered 
objective and accurate information. This objectivity is 
important to our developing relations with the religious 
community as it becomes more influential in Russian society 
and on the Russian government.  The MFA's criticism of the 
IRF comes against the backdrop of recent report by the 
All-Russia Public Opinion Center (VTsIOM) on the two-fold 
increase in negative Russian public opinion regarding the 
United States.  Between June and September 2008, negative 
opinions about the U.S. jumped from 29 percent to 65 percent 
while positive feelings dropped from 49 percent to 22 
percent, perhaps explaining some of the GOR's prickly 
response. 
BEYRLE