Salvation Army faces turbulent times in Russia

Fear of precedent being set for treatment of religious groups

KELLY HENSCHEL
CW Staff Writer

As the new year dawns, the Salvation Army is in danger of being kicked out of a Russian city where they have served the poor and needy for more than nine years.

According to a 1997 federal law, all religious groups that have been in the country for less than 15 years must re-register with the local Russian government annually to receive official recognition.

While the Salvation Army received approval in the past, its application for Moscow, the base for Russian operations, has been denied, first by the Ministry of Justice in August, 1999 and again by the Moscow City Appeals Court November 28, 2000. Part of the reasoning is the authorities’ belief the Army is a para-military organization.

If the group does not receive registration approval by the December 31 deadline, the work in Moscow, including soup kitchens and other social programs, could be shut down.

As the group fights its way through the Russian court system they are trying to remain hopeful, says Kenneth Baillie, a colonel with the Salvation Army and head of Russian operations. However, he says, Salvationists are at a loss to know why they are being singled out for harassment.

“It appears to be arbitrary,” he says. “Other religious groups have been granted registration, some without anything like the worldwide reputation we have for service to God and people. We cannot understand it.”

The group, which has already incurred legal fees of more than $20,000, is considering an appeal to the nation’s Supreme Court. The Army is also putting forward an application to register nationally under the Centralised Religious Organization (CRO).

Lingering repression

Paul Marshall, general editor of Religious Freedom in the World and chair of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Religious Liberty Commission, says the troubles facing Salvationists in Russia “could be a bell-wether of what is to come,” as the spectre of past religious repression still lingers. By denying one the registration of one group, a precedent could be set to deny others as well, he says.

It’s hard to know what the future holds in Russia, says Earl Robinson, a colonel with the Army and head of international external relations in Canada. “We already have some recognition in places such as St. Petersburg, so it could be that the way would open up for us in other places as well, even though Moscow might be denied.”

There are four Canadians working with the Salvation Army in Russia. “All of the Canadian officers are doing well and at the present time there is no fear that they will have to leave, although the future is a little uncertain right now as to our full status there,” says Robinson.

Geoff Ryan, recently returned to Canada after working in Russia with the Salvation Army, says the group’s work in the region will probably continue. “Unless there’s a real turn, I think the Army will get through this. I don’t really see that there is a huge unified threat against foreign missionaries overall. I think the country’s too fragmented for that.”

The Salvation Army has been active in Russia since 1991, when it returned after eviction by Russian authorities in 1923. There are 21 corps, six of which are in Moscow, four outposts and many social ministries in 14 cities. Five have successfully re-registered.