Russian culture

[Lindsey Taxman]

Regarding the Russian Orthodox Church, the Union of Councils for Soviet
Jews (UCSJ) recently published a new report which details rising
antisemitism in Russia.  Thre is an extensive chapter on the Russian
Orthodox Church and how they contribute to rising antisemitism.  This would
definitely be considered an outside source if you are still in need of
information on the ROC.

The URL is below in the press release that I have attached.  

Thanks,
Lindsey Paige Taxman
UCSJ National Outreach Director

Union of Councils for Soviet Jews
1819 H Street, NW Suite 230 Washington, DC 20006
(202) 775-9770  Fax (202) 775-9776
E-mail ucsj at ucsj.com http://www.fsumonitor.com

DECEMBER 16, 1999
Contact: Gideon Aronoff (ext. 15)

Press Release

NEW REPORT ON ANTISEMITISM, XENOPHOBIA AND RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN RUSSIA'S 
REGIONS ISSUED TODAY
Elie Wiesel, Government, Academic, Russian Religious and Rights Leaders 
Highlight Importance of Report 

Just days before the December 19th parliamentary elections in Russia, the 
Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ) today issued a new report on the 
increasing problems of antisemitism, xenophobia and religious persecution in 
Russia that concludes, "Not only do Jews face specific dangers through 
incidents of antisemitism, but an infrastructure of antisemitism - at the 
grassroots and official levels - is taking hold throughout much of the 
country, influenced by communist, neo-Nazi, Russian Orthodox and other 
sources of antisemitic activity.  These forces act with complete impunity.…"

After reviewing a pre-publication copy of UCSJ's report "Antisemitism, 
Xenophobia and Religious Persecution in Russia's Regions: 1998-1999" Nobel 
Laureate Elie Wiesel said, "Antisemitism in various parts of the former 
Soviet Union has been gaining ground.  This is dangerous, and this is the 
substance of this report.  Obviously the newly won democracy in those 
countries has not succeeded in educating their populations on the perils of 
racial and religious hatred directed towards the Jews.   The situation has 
become serious, and human rights organizations as well as governments must 
intervene on behalf of tomorrow's possible Jewish victims."

The report, including 62 regional chapters and five brief synthesizing 
essays, documents, in detail for the first time, threats to Jews and other 
religious and ethnic minorities in the vast territory of the Russian 
Federation, and is being released exclusively online at www.FSUMonitor.com.  
Copies are available at: http://www.FSUMonitor.com/99report/index.shtml.

Other pre-publication reactions to "Antisemitism, Xenophobia and Religious 
Persecution in Russia's Regions: 1998-1999" include the following.  [Full 
quotations and contact information attached at the end of this release.]

"In documenting rising antisemitic trends, as well as other manifestations of 
religious persecution across the Russian regions, UCSJ's latest monitoring 
report breaks important new ground. This achievement is a valuable and 
practical contribution to the Clinton Administration's work to advance 
religious freedom worldwide." Rabbi David Saperstein (Washington, DC), 
Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Rabbi Saperstein 
is also Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious 
Freedom.

"I think that UCSJ's report on monitoring antisemitism is objective and 
extremely important due to the fact that our mutual goal is precisely to 
fight that negative phenomenon…As our wise forefathers used to say, 
'knowledge of an illness is already half the treatment.'" Chabad Lubavitch 
Rabbi Beril Lazar (Moscow), Chief Rabbi of FEOR (Federation of Jewish 
Communities of Russia), a federation of more than 200 large and small, 
religious and secular Jewish communities across Russia.

"Therefore, the thorough monitoring of all forms of xenophobia, including 
antisemitism, conducted by UCSJ is of great importance today, when extremist 
and fascist attitudes are so strong."  Ludmilla Alexeeva (Moscow), Chair of 
the Moscow Helsinki Group and President of the International Helsinki 
Federation.

"This excellent, well-documented study demonstrates that the process of 
Nazification of Weimar Russia has accelerated dramatically in the last 18 
months." Semyon Reznik (Washington, DC), author of The Nazification of 
Russia: Anti-Semitism in the Post-Soviet Era.

"The new UCSJ report on antisemitism, xenophobia, and religious persecution 
in Russia's regions is an invaluable source of information and analysis for 
everyone concerned about the future of Russia and of the world."  Stephen 
Shenfield (Providence, RI), Assistant Professor (Research) at Brown 
University's Watson Institute for International Studies, and author of the 
forthcoming book, Russian Fascism: Traditions, Tendencies, and Movements.

"It helps to further the establishment of a genuine civil society in our 
country…UCSJ has made a great contribution to religious freedom in Russia." 
Father Gleb Yakunin (Moscow), former Prisoner of Conscience, Chairman of the 
Public Committee for the Defense of Freedom of Conscience, and member of the 
Moscow Helsinki Group.

"While Jews now have more freedom to practice their religion than in the dark 
days of the Soviet period, today, more than ever, Jews and other minorities 
in Russia face a dangerous and complex web of antisemitic, fascist and other 
extremist forces," declared Yosef Abramowitz, UCSJ's president.  "These 
elements, both inside regional and national governmental structures and in 
grassroots social, political and religious organizations, express hate-filled 
rhetoric and even perpetrate violent hate-crimes that place Jews and Russia's 
democratic future in grave jeopardy."

In announcing the results of the year-long monitoring effort, Micah Naftalin, 
UCSJ's national director, said, "We and our colleagues in Russia applaud 
recent statements by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister 
Vladimir Putin seeking information on the problem of antisemitism and 
pledging to lead the struggle to end this sadly common blight in Russia's 
history.   But words without deeds are insufficient.  UCSJ's report provides 
the roadmap to hate in Russia's increasingly independent provinces and a 
challenge to Russian and Western leaders to make concrete action on 
antisemitism and related issues a top policy priority." 

Specific recommendations in UCSJ's report include:

For the Russian Government:

· Through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service 
(FSB), vigorously investigate and prosecute antisemitic and extremist 
organizations and individuals, and incidents of hate crimes, under the 
currently existing law prohibiting the incitement of ethnic or religious 
hatred (Article 282 of the Criminal Code).  Redirect FSB resources currently 
being used to investigate and prosecute environmental scientists and 
journalist towards the crucial task of fighting extremism.

· Utilize all available resources to encourage the Duma to enact the draft 
law "On Political Extremism" to bolster the Article 282-based efforts to 
confront antisemitic extremism.  Repudiate the 1997 law on religion and 
introduce legislation in the Duma to restore full freedom of religion in 
Russia.

· Dismiss Russian federal officials in regional and/or municipal offices who 
collaborate with, or are tolerant of, extremist groups and individuals.

For the United States Government:

· Enhance the status of human rights and antisemitism issues on the formal 
agenda of bilateral meetings between Russia and the United States and support 
the inclusion of strong human rights considerations in guidelines for the 
approval of new loans or other forms of bilateral and multilateral 
assistance. 

· Urge the Russian government to take legal action against antisemitic 
extremist groups and individuals, encourage the Duma to pass a strong law 
against extremism and to repudiate the 1997 law on religion.

· Continue to provide a strong humanitarian response to the problem of 
refugees in the former Soviet Union - including vulnerable religious 
minorities like Jews and Evangelical Christians - through a generous US 
refugee admissions program.

UCSJ is a grassroots Jewish human rights organization with monitoring bureaus 
in Russia and six other countries of the former Soviet Union that has 
monitored and reported on antisemitism and other violations of human rights 
for 30 years.  UCSJ and its affiliated local councils across the United 
States act in partnership with indigenous activists and NGOs in the former 
Soviet Union, promoting human rights, democracy, rule of law and pluralism, 
and assisting emerging Jewish communities with humanitarian, cultural and 
educational assistance.

Of the seven "courageous" activists honored on December 9, 1999 by the New 
York-based International League for Human Rights, two have close ties to 
UCSJ.  Yevgeny Zhovtis, whose office was burned by arsonists in November, is 
director of UCSJ's human rights bureau in Almaty, Kazakhstan.  Yuri Schmidt, 
attorney for environmental activist Aleksandr Nikitin, on trial for blowing 
the whistle on nuclear contamination in the North Sea, is a board member of 
UCSJ's bureau in St. Petersburg, the Harold and Selma Light Center for Human 
Rights Advocacy, administered by UCSJ San Francisco affiliate Bay Area 
Council for Jewish Rescue and Renewal.  UCSJ, the Belonna Foundation, Amnesty 
International and the Sierra Club coordinate the advocacy campaign in the 
U.S. on behalf of Nikitin.

- ### -
 Reactions to UCSJ's new report, "Antisemitism, Xenophobia and Religious 
Persecution in Russia's Regions: 1998-1999," released December 16, 1999.

1. Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate.

"Antisemitism in various parts of the former Soviet Union has been gaining 
ground.  This is dangerous, and this is the substance of this report.  
Obviously the newly won democracy in those countries has not succeeded in 
educating their populations on the perils of racial and religious hatred 
directed towards the Jews.   The situation has become serious, and human 
rights organizations as well as governments must intervene on behalf of 
tomorrow's possible Jewish victims."

2.  Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform 
Judaism.  He is also Chair of the United States Commission on International 
Religious Freedom. (Washington, DC) (202) 387-2800.

"In documenting rising antisemitic trends, as well as other manifestations of 
religious persecution across the Russian regions, UCSJ's latest monitoring 
report breaks important new ground.  It is especially valuable for combining 
all the strands of detailed information into a coherent whole - the 
infrastructure of xenophobic extremism that threatens not only Jews but 
minority Christian and Muslim faiths, and the Russian society at large. This 
achievement is a valuable and practical contribution to the Clinton 
Administration's work to advance religious freedom worldwide." 

3.  Chabad Lubavitch Rabbi Beril Lazar, Chief Rabbi of FEOR (Federation of 
Jewish Communities of Russia).  (Moscow)  (095) 218-0001.  (FEOR is a 
federation of more than 200 large and small, religious and secular Jewish 
communities across Russia.)

"I think that UCSJ's report on monitoring anti-Semitism is objective and 
extremely important due to the fact that our mutual goal is precisely to 
fight that negative phenomenon. And this goal of ours is almost impossible to 
achieve without verified information. As our wise forefathers used to say, 
'Knowledge of an illness is already half the treatment.'"

4.  Ludmilla Alexeeva, Chair, Moscow Helsinki Group and President, 
International Helsinki Federation.  (Moscow)

Xenophobia is an inherent part of every "closed" society. Hence, in light of 
the fact that Russia only recently stopped being a "closed" society, it still 
represents a very fruitful soil for all kinds of manifestations of 
xenophobia. The situation is especially problematic because Russian 
politicians deliberately kindle such lowly feelings and biased superstitions 
of the population, thus increasing the temperature of negative public opinion 
to a highly dangerous degree.  Therefore, the thorough monitoring of all 
forms of xenophobia, including antisemitism, conducted by UCSJ is of great 
importance today, when extremist and fascist attitudes are so strong." 

5.  Semyon Reznik, Author of The Nazification of Russia: Anti-Semitism in the 
post-Soviet Era. (Washington, DC)  (202) 619-2232.

"This excellent, well-documented study demonstrates that the process of 
Nazification of Weimar Russia has accelerated dramatically in the last 18 
months. This is the first study that covers most of the regions of the 
Russian Federation. It shows how significantly antisemitism and xenophobia 
influence the political process both on the local and federal levels, which 
is especially alarming on the eve on the parliamentary elections."  

6.  Steven Shenfield, Assistant Professor (Research) at Brown University's 
Watson
Institute for International Studies, and author of the forthcoming book 
Russian Fascism: Traditions, Tendencies, and Movements. (Providence, RI) 
(401) 863-2809

"The new UCSJ report on antisemitism, xenophobia, and religious persecution 
in Russia's regions is an invaluable source of information and analysis for 
everyone concerned about the future of Russia and of the world.  The main 
emphasis of the report is on developments at the provincial level, and this 
is completely justified, because it is from the provinces that the threat to 
the values of ethnic and religious tolerance comes.  Also of great value is 
the analysis of the Russian Orthodox Church as a bastion of intolerance, an 
issue that has received too little public attention."

7.  Father Gleb Yakunin, former Prisoner of Conscience, Chairman of the 
Public Committee for the Defense of Freedom of Conscience and member of the 
Moscow Helsinki Group. (Moscow) (095) 292-3281 (Work). (095) 949-1965 (Home).

"The monitoring of inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations, antisemitism 
and other forms of xenophobia in Russia has been effectively and objectively 
carried out by UCSJ within the framework of its project of monitoring human 
rights in the majority of Russia's regions.

Such cooperation of Russian and American organizations helps to keep the 
international community informed about the situation in the country and aids 
in the struggle against antisemitism and other forms of political extremism 
and fascism.  It also helps to further the establishment of a genuine civil 
society in our country.  Finally, UCSJ has made a great contribution to 
religious freedom in Russia."

 







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For more information on Jews and human rights in the former Soviet Union, 
please contact ucsj at ucsj.com or visit us on the web at
http://www.fsumonitor.com.
Union of Councils for Soviet Jews
1819 H Street, NW Suite 230
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 775 9770
(202) 775 9776 (fax)
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