MIXED REACTION TO 2008 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT ON

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