VZCZCXRO0492
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #0879/01 0961310
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061310Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2759
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MOSCOW 000879 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL SOCI KIRF RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH HOLDS ALL CARDS IN 
HISTORIC GOLDEN RING 
 
REF: MOSCOW 689 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary.  A recent trip to the Russian "Golden 
Ring" cities of Sergiyev Posad, Suzdal, and Vladimir 
indicated that despite the existence of four official Russian 
religions (Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism), the 
country's traditional religious center is firmly Russian 
Orthodox.  While an ROC representative painted a picture of 
perfect tranquillity, local officials in Sergiyev Posad 
blamed the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) for only looking 
after itself.  In Suzdal, the leader of the schismatic 
Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) despaired at the 
loss of 13 church buildings to the Russian government, and 
pointed a finger at the Federal Security Service (FSB) for 
meddling in ROAC affairs.  In Vladimir, non-Orthodox 
confessions enjoyed differing levels of prosperity contingent 
on their congregation sizes and property holdings.  Vladimir 
Oblast officials suggested that all organizations existed in 
harmony and trumpeted the government's forced consolidation 
of local human rights groups as a way to control civil 
society.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Our visit to the Golden Ring to learn more about 
the ROC's relationship with the government, community, and 
other religious groups occurred against the backdrop of a 
landmark Duma proposal to return a significant amount of 
property and assets to all religious organizations in Russia. 
 This bill would grant religious organizations ownership of 
all historical property -- currently owned by the Russian 
federal government -- in each respective organization's use, 
according to a February 24 article in Russian daily 
Kommersant.  Should Russian lawmakers adopt and implement 
this proposal, it would cede the Russian Orthodox Church up 
to 7.41 million acres and make it one of the nation's largest 
landowners, according to an April 5 Associated Press release. 
 Forum 18 religion reporter Geraldine Fagan believed the 
proposal to be fraught with problems, including significant 
resistance from the Russian Ministry of Culture.  She told us 
on March 22 that the ROC's current property disputes with 
Baptists in Lipetsk, Old Believers in Moscow region, and the 
ROAC in Suzdal were all complicated and presented no easy 
solutions.  Russian journalists also have speculated about 
the reasons and financial consequences for such a large 
property transfer, arousing suspicion about the proposal's 
architect. 
 
Russian Orthodox Insulated in Sergiyev Posad 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  ROC representatives in Sergiyev Posad painted a 
picture of cooperation and strong religious revival on a 
local level.  Head of the Academic Board of the Russian 
Orthodox Theological Academy Archpriest Pavel Velikanov 
offered diplomatic overtures on our March 18 visit to the 
Sergiyev Posad Lavra, the religious center for Russian 
Orthodoxy just 60 miles from Moscow.  After providing a short 
tour of the campus which includes one of the ROC's two 
seminaries, an academy for higher learning, and several 
churches open to visitors, Velikanov posited close ties 
between the ROC and the city and federal governments. 
Praising Patriarch Kirill's efforts to strengthen the ROC's 
appeal across the country, Velikanov gave little attention to 
interaction with other religious communities in Sergiyev 
Posad. When asked about the Lavra's economic situation during 
the economic crisis, he pointed to the possible return of 
religious property from the Russian government to the 
respective confessions as a big plus, believing that the ROC 
had ample funding to properly maintain its assets.  That 
said, he could not address questions on the source of Church 
funding. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Deputy Head of Sergiyev Posad Municipal District 
Vladimir Prokopenko offered a different perspective, 
criticizing local ROC representatives for not doing enough in 
the local community and for offering preferential treatment 
to the Church's own people.  Prokopenko told us on March 18 
about two ROC projects in Sergiyev Posad which helped the 
local economy, but at the expense of those not affiliated 
with the ROC administration.  In one case, the ROC financed 
the construction of an apartment building near the city's 
downtown area, providing top-notch accommodations to visiting 
ROC officials.  In the same building, however, local 
residents rented apartments with insufficient accommodations 
for their money, creating an atmosphere of animosity between 
the have's and have not's.  With regards to the Duma proposal 
to return property and assets to religious organizations, 
Prokopenko doubted that the Church would suffer any economic 
strain should the government follow through on this plan, and 
adamantly felt that the Church would never seek financial 
assistance from the city of Sergiyev Posad.  In a separate 
 
MOSCOW 00000879  002 OF 004 
 
 
meeting, former Sergiyev Posad City Council Deputy and 
current President of the Inter-regional Foundation of 
Ombudsmen Sergey Kryzhov told us on March 18 that he had been 
denied registration for upcoming mayoral elections, and he 
blamed poor relations with the ROC for his troubles.  Perhaps 
because of his affiliation with the opposition Yabloko party, 
Kryzhov added that he would not be "surprised" if local 
Sergiyev Posad Orthodox powers had leaned on the appropriate 
people to block his bid for public office. 
 
Schismatics Outmatched in Suzdal 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) 
Metropolitan Valentin told us on April 1 that his church 
faced serious obstacles in Suzdal, including FSB interference 
and government confiscation of ROAC property.  During a tour 
of the ROAC's church museum, filled with icons and artifacts 
from the 18th to 20th century, Valentin complained that the 
Russian government had deprived the ROAC, formerly connected 
to the Russian Orthodox Free Church, of 13 religious 
properties (11 churches, two bell towers) in Suzdal.  He 
handed us a letter dated October 20, 2006, in which the 
Federal Agency for the Administration of Federal Property 
announced the creation of a committee in Vladimir Oblast to 
review the origins of property currently occupied by the 
ROAC.  Valentin explained that he had restored over 20 church 
buildings in Suzdal since 1977, all of which had been 
abandoned or used for things like grain storage during the 
Soviet era.  By raising funds in the United States through 
the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), Valentin and his 
colleagues rebuilt the majority of Suzdal's religious 
structures, helping to turn the town of 12,000 into a tourist 
center.  He eventually broke from the ROC in 1990, 
complaining that he had been forced to report his foreign 
connections to the KGB, after serving as the official host 
for all foreign tourists to Suzdal since the early 1970s. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Forum 18 religion expert Geraldine Fagan provided 
more details on Valentin's situation, telling us on February 
12 that Valentin had actually made a deal with KGB agents in 
the late 1970s to "acquire" several churches in Suzdal, in 
large part because of his desire to become independent from 
the ROC.  However, the official ROAC-ROC split did not occur 
until October 1998.  She believed that the ROAC might have 
registered the buildings improperly, and now faced the 
consequences of "stealing" the churches (Note: the Russian 
Orthodox Free Church was ROCA's official body in Russia until 
1995, after which Valentin declared his independence and 
renamed his Free Church as ROAC).  The efforts to recoup 
Suzdal church property from the ROAC could also be rooted in 
the government's past perception that Valentin served as a 
U.S. government spy. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  After receiving a letter in February 2009 
explaining the government's intention to take ownership of 
the properties in five days, ROAC church members attempted to 
remove precious icons, crosses, and other assorted religious 
items from the churches.  As they prepared to transport the 
objects, a FSB officer approached and forbade the transfer. 
Despite Valentin's protests that the officer had no right to 
prevent the ROAC's use of private property, he gave in to 
avoid additional troubles.  All of the ROAC's belongings 
remain in the churches, just as they were before Valentin 
received official notice of the government's plan to take the 
property. 
 
¶8. (SBU)  While Valentin would not postulate about the 
architect of the initiative, journalist for the online 
newspaper "TOMIKS" Natalya Novozhilova bluntly told us on 
April 1 that the FSB organized the activity against the ROAC. 
 Valentin freely noted that FSB officials had ruined his 
reputation by labeling him a pedophile and crook in 2002, 
making him especially cautious in any interaction.  He 
admitted that any number of groups could be behind ROAC's 
problems, but hesitated in giving any concrete thoughts. 
Novozhilova later explained that several priests in the 
Suzdal and Vladimir region were deeply involved in corruption 
(another possible connection to Valentin's problems), and 
that she was working on a story which would expose several 
high-ranking officials for being involved in activities "not 
suitable for a religious leader." 
 
¶9. (SBU)  Officially, Suzdal experienced no significant 
problems between religious groups or between the government 
and religious organizations.  Suzdal Mayor Sergey Godunin 
told us on April 1 that minority religious confessions did 
not maintain a presence in the city, and that his office 
strove to keep an open door to all Suzdal residents. 
Acknowledging the difficulties which the ROAC had 
 
MOSCOW 00000879  003 OF 004 
 
 
experienced, Godunin suggested that Valentin work with the 
federal authorities on the matter as it was not his 
jurisdiction.  In addition, he made a special effort to 
separate Vladimir Oblast Governor Nikolay Vinogradov from his 
Communist Party affiliation, saying that the ROAC's problems 
are not a throwback to Soviet times. 
 
Vladimir Government: Everything is Fine 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU)  In the city of Vladimir (Vladimir Oblast), public 
officials insisted that the government existed in complete 
harmony with all local human rights and religious 
organizations.  Human Rights Commission Chairwoman Lina 
Yakusheva touted the most recent accomplishment in Vladimir 
Oblast: the consolidation of human rights groups.  Yakusheva 
explained to us on April 1 that the centralization was 
"necessary" because "we didn't know who these social 
organizations even were."  As a result, she proudly stated 
that the government will be able to coordinate "controlled 
public events" much more effectively than in the past.  Her 
colleague, Chairwoman for the Committee on Public Relations 
and Mass Media Anna Payevskaya, added that the Oblast 
government accepted and encouraged the free observation of 
all religious beliefs.  Payevskaya called the current level 
of state-religious organization interaction "excellent", 
evidenced by recent round tables and public fora held by the 
Vladimir Oblast government.  Unsolicited, she mentioned two 
problematic issues in the Oblast involving the Russian 
Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC) and the Muslim community 
(see below), placing the responsibility for troubles on their 
noncompliance with the law.  Payevskaya concluded her 
thoughts by denying any suggestion that the ROC was held in 
higher regard than other religious groups, as "we value all 
organizations equally." 
 
Property Holdings Determine Protestant Success? 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶11. (SBU)  Assistant Dean of the Roman Catholic Church of 
Vladimir Ivan Kolesnikov told us on March 31 that his church 
must support the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and Patriarch 
Kirill during the current transition, noting that Kirill is 
the only figure who could attract Russia's youth back to 
religious practice.  Based in a 19th-century church in the 
center of Vladimir, the Catholic community only boasted 500 
members in the entire oblast, with about 200 attending Easter 
Sunday services and only 20 parishioners coming on an average 
Sunday.  Because of their low membership and attendance, 
Kolesnikov worried about the financial situation of the 
Catholic community, saying that he could barely manage to pay 
for heat and water at the church under current conditions. 
Should the federal government follow through on the Duma 
proposal to return government-owned church property to the 
different confessions, it would create an enormous burden for 
smaller groups (but not for the ROC).  Past donations from 
Catholic brethren in Italy and the United States have kept 
the church afloat, but more financial help would be needed to 
survive the long term, according to Kolesnikov. 
 
¶12. (SBU)  In contrast to the financial difficulties facing 
the Catholics, the Wesleyan Protestant Church in downtown 
Vladimir appeared to be thriving, even during the current 
economic crisis.  Pastor Anton Dmitriyev told us on March 31 
that his organization owned the 40-room building, a former 
government kindergarten that the Wesleyan Church bought in 
1994, in which he conducted Sunday services.  Some of the 
reasons for the organization's success were its casual 
atmosphere, use of modern Russian in worship services 
(Orthodox services are conducted in Old Church Slavonic), and 
its focus on youth activities, according to Antonov.  He 
indicated that his chapter has attracted over 100 local 
people (mostly youth) for Sunday services, with many 
participating in church choir performances and leadership 
forums.  The Wesleyan Church of Vladimir also maintained 
close relations with Wesleyan branches in the United States 
(its former pastor was an AmCit) and other regional 
Protestant groups, including the Baptists.  Antonov pointed 
out, however, that city government officials denied the 
Wesleyan Church's recent applications to hold church-related 
functions in centrally-located city parks, instead offering 
them space in Victory Park on the outskirts of town (the same 
alternative offered to anti-government and human rights 
demonstrators, he noted). 
 
Small Jewish Community Pushes Holocaust Education 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶13. (SBU)  Acting Director of the Vladimir Jewish Community 
Center Marina Krol told us on March 31 that their greatest 
 
MOSCOW 00000879  004 OF 004 
 
 
success in the past ten years has been convincing the 
Vladimir city administration to conduct Holocaust education 
in its public schools as part of the greater curriculum, the 
only such program in the entire country.  Because of her 
strong connections with Holocaust Foundation Director and 
Public Chamber member Alla Gerber, she and her colleagues had 
pressed upon the city government the importance of discussing 
the Holocaust legacy in order to reduce anti-Semitism in 
Russia.  Additionally, in the course of soliciting U.S. 
government financial support, she bragged that the Jewish 
community owned its own community center, a building replete 
with a small temple, offices, kitchen, dining hall, and 
library (the small number of books were donated by oligarch 
Roman Abramovich, according to Krol).  She pointed out that 
the community's 2000 members consisted of a devout minority, 
plus a majority that strove to continue its observation of 
traditional Jewish customs.  Her small community had not 
experienced any problems with other confessions, city 
officials, or the regional government, but had been 
vandalized by "hooligans" in recent years. 
 
Vladimir Muslims Move Forward Without Mosque 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU)  Vladimir Oblast Head Mufti Vafa Hazrat told us on 
March 31 that approximately 60,000 Muslims lived in the 
oblast, most of whom comprised the region's significant 
Azerbaijani diaspora and Tatar community.  Hazrat explained 
that the Vladimir Oblast government previously denied the 
Muslim community permission to build a new mosque in the 
region.  The absence of real opportunity to build a "proper" 
house of worship forced him to purchase additional property 
abutting a home owned by the community on the outskirts of 
Vladimir, which the community now uses for prayer.  The 
Muslim community built modest additions to the home, with a 
multi-floor worship area that included a women's prayer area 
on the bottom floor (men's prayer area on 2nd floor) where 
volunteer teachers regularly conduct free Arabic and Tatar 
language classes.  The mufti stressed the importance of these 
classes since the regional government had failed to teach 
students about ethnic minorities, nor about any religion 
other than Russian Orthodoxy. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶15. (SBU)  The ROC appears to be gathering steam under 
Kirill's guidance (reftel), although conversations in the 
Golden Ring suggest that the ROC is not overly interested in 
religious unity despite Kirill's efforts on interfaith 
dialogue.  The troubles besetting the schismatic ROAC could 
result in Kirill regaining control of Suzdal's highly-visited 
churches in the near future, a symbolic triumph of religious 
dominance over the ROAC.  On the other hand, forced property 
ownership would burden smaller religious organizations with 
poor financing, potentially closing the door on some 
Protestant groups that espouse beliefs different from the ROC 
unless they secure sufficient means from diaspora groups and 
overseas affiliates.  Should the GOR take aim to prevent 
foreign financial influence in the religious sphere, 
non-mainstream denominations could suffer greatly. 
BEYRLE