CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY IN RUSSIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 001780 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2017 TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV RS SUBJECT: CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY IN RUSSIA REF: 99 MOSCOW 29205 Classified By: Political Counselor Alice Wells: Reason 1.4(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The Church of Scientology is growing in Russia, and has established a nationwide network even though it lacks status as a registered religion. The Moscow branch recently won a landmark decision against the GOR at the European Court of Human Rights. The decision should help the Moscow branch register as a religious organization, but may not set a precedent for other Russian Scientology branches. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- Legal Process of Registering a Religious Organization -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) The 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations (reftel) establishes three legal classifications of religious associations: informal religious groups, registered religious organizations, and centralized organizations. - A religious group is defined as a voluntary association of citizens who may carry out worship services, religious rituals and ceremonies, and teach about their religion. Groups have no legal rights, they may not own property, enter into contracts, or invite visitors from abroad; members of the group may act on behalf of the group for those purposes. - A group may register as a religious organization if it consists of at least ten Russian citizens and meets one of these three conditions: (a) belong to a centralized religious organization; (b) had registered as a religious organization prior to the enactment of the 1997 law; or (c) have existed for at least 15 years in the locality where it is registering. - A centralized organization may be formed by joining a minimum of three local religious organizations of the same faith. -------------- Official Status of Scientologists in Russia -------------- ¶3. (U) The Church of Scientology (COS) has 45 groups operating across Russia: 24 "Church of Scientology Missions," 20 "Dianetics Centers," and one "Hubbard Humanitarian Center." Some of these are registered as social organizations, and some are religious groups. The COS does not have a national organization that can provide overall numbers, but a spokeswoman said that 200 employees work for the Moscow branch, which serves 5000 active members in Moscow, 500 of whom visit the center on an average day. 
 -------------- ECHR Cases -------------- ¶4. (U) The Moscow branch was denied registration as a religious organization 11 times by the Moscow Justice Department from 1998 to 2005. The Russian courts ruled in favor of the Moscow Branch, but the Moscow MOJ refused to register them, and the COS sued Russia at the ECHR. On April 5, the ECHR ruled in favor of the Moscow COS, noting that because it had been registered as a religious organization prior to 1997, it met all legal requirements for registration. ¶5. (C) According to Larisa Krylova, the COS trial attorney, the COS has unsuccessfully tried to register four of its affiliates (Moscow, Nizhnekamsk, Surgut, and St. Petersburg) as religious organizations. Appeals to Russian courts in those cases were ultimately unsuccessful, and the COS filed suit at the ECHR. The ECHR has combined the cases for Nizhnekamsk and Surgut and should hear these cases within six months, Krylova said. The application for the St. Petersburg case has not yet been accepted for review. ¶6. (C) Krylova was optimistic that the COS would win the pending Nizhnekamsk-Surgut case, but cautioned that it differed significantly from the Moscow case. The Surgut COS registered in 1994 as a social NGO, not a religious organization, and the Nizhnekamsk COS was founded as a religious group only in 1998, after the 1997 Law was passed. Consequently, neither meets the conditions described in paragraph 2, above. ¶7. (C) Moscow COS Press Secretary Yelena Shklyarova told us that the COS will again attempt to register as a local religious organization in Moscow, and will eventually attempt MOSCOW 00001780 002 OF 002 to register as a centralized organization. (Note: Under the 1997 Law, the COS would have to first register at least three local religious organizations before it would be eligible to register as a centralized organization. End note.) Krylova believed that it would be difficult to register the COS as a centralized religious organization until the 15-year waiting period is fulfilled by at least three COS branches. -------------- Reaction to the Decision -------------- ¶8. (C) Krylova described the Moscow COS decision as a landmark for the Scientologists in Europe, not just Russia, since the ECHR had refused to even hear prior COS appeals against Germany, Sweden, and France. ¶9. (U) On April 13, the COS held a press conference with other church and human rights NGO leaders to discuss the court victory. Anton Lychkin, President of the Moscow Church of Scientology, portrayed the decision as a win-win for the COS and Russia since "Russia now has the chance to become a leader, ahead of the other Europeans, in human rights." According to Igor Rakhmilov, Head of the Russian Lawyers Guild International Department, the ruling confirmed the principle that all religions, even non-traditional ones, must be treated equally. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) The main difficulty that the COS faces is the legal restriction in the 1997 Law -- in most cases COS groups in Russia do not meet the legal requirements for registering as a religious organization (specifically the 15-year rule). The COS has the option to wait until their 15-year waiting period expires in 2013, or seek to have the requirement invalidated by the courts or amended in the Duma. Until then, the COS (except for the Moscow branch) may legally operate only religious groups or social organizations. BURNS