Source: www.forum18.org
Date: February 4, 2026
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18
Prosecutors in Rostov-in-Don in southern European Russia are seeking to
have the activities of a Council of Churches Baptist church banned because
of its refusal to undergo any form of state registration. In December 2025,
a court in Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East ordered another Baptist
church to submit notification of its activities to local Justice Ministry
authorities within two months, but did not impose a ban. Prosecutors had
earlier dropped their demand that the church register as a legal entity.
Court hearings to ban the Council of Churches Baptist church in Rostov's
Kirov District are due to resume on 9 February. The suit followed a
November 2025 inspection by Federal Security Service (FSB) officers,
National Guard troops, prosecutor's office and fire service officials. In
December 2025, just days after prosecutors lodged the banning suit, a Kirov
District Magistrate's Court fined the church's Pastor, Oleg Volkov, several
days' average local wages for "unlawful missionary activity" (see below).
Kirov District Prosecutor's Office, Rostov City Prosecutor's Office, and
Rostov Regional Prosecutor's Office did not respond to Forum 18's question
asking why prosecutors were seeking to have the church's activities
prohibited (see below).
Meanwhile, also in December 2025, bailiffs unsealed the Council of Churches
Baptist church in the Krasnodar Region town of Kurganinsk after community
members provided the required notification. Worship appears to have resumed
as normal in the building, after more than seven months of the congregation
holding services outside (see below).
Courts are known to have so far issued bans on the activities of ten
Council of Churches communities, largely in Krasnodar Region. The practice
of imposing such prohibitions – specifically for failing to notify
Justice Ministry authorities of the beginning of a religious group's
activities – increased noticeably in 2024 and 2025, a lawyer familiar
with the situation confirmed to Forum 18
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Council of Churches Baptist communities continue to meet for worship
regardless of any court decisions to ban their activities. So far, the
Kurganinsk community, which at present is the only congregation to lose
access to its church building, is the only one which has submitted
notification, with special permission of the higher church authorities (see
below).
Six of the known lawsuits have taken place in the southern Krasnodar
Region. There have been others in each of the Mari El Republic and
Ulyanovsk Region in central Russia, the Far Eastern Amur Region,
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Western Siberia, and most recently,
Rostov Region, also in southern European Russia (see below).
Exactly why Krasnodar Region prosecutors are trying to ban so many Baptist
communities' activities is unclear. It is likely partly linked to the high
number of administrative prosecutions in the Region for "unlawful
missionary activity", which usually form part of the evidence in such
lawsuits. Fines for individuals are generally 5,000 Roubles, equivalent to
several days' average wage (see below).
Krasnodar Region Prosecutor's Office has failed to respond to Forum 18's
enquiries as to why it wants to ban these churches from operating (see
below).
Refusal to register their communities or otherwise accept state regulation
has been a key element of Council of Churches Baptists' identity since
their emergence in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Council of Churches
Baptists argue that the 1997 Religion Law and the Russian Constitution –
as well as Russia's international human rights obligations
(https://odihr.osce.org/odihr/
without state involvement.
So far, Council of Churches Baptists appear to be the only religious
community affected by this trend, lawyers have told Forum 18. Some other
communities also worship without either registering as religious
organisations or submitting notification of the creation of a religious
group. This means that it is technically possible that they too may be
vulnerable to lawsuits. These may include some other Protestants and some
Muslims (for example, small rural congregations, or students or migrant
workers who worship together informally in hostels or workplaces).
Possible restrictions on worship on residential premises?
On 16 June 2025, a group of State Duma deputies introduced a bill
(https://www.sova-center.ru/re
which, if passed, would outlaw public worship services and religious rites
and ceremonies on residential premises and in the non-residential parts of
blocks of flats.
"These amendments would affect the absolute majority of prayer rooms of the
[Council of Churches Baptists]", Novaya Gazeta Europe observed on 12 August
2025
(https://novayagazeta.eu/artic
On 1 October 2025, the federal government responded critically to the
proposed amendments. It noted that they contradict Article 16, Part 2 of
the Religion Law (which explicitly states that "Worship services, religious
rites and ceremonies are carried out without hindrance .. on residential
premises") and stated (https://www.forum18.org/archi
that the bill requires "significant revision".
The bill has now been included in the Duma's provisional programme for May
2026, according to the Duma's website. It remains unclear what new
restrictions might be included in any text submitted to deputies.
The process of banning a community's activities
The procedure of banning a community's activities
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
inspection by the local Prosecutor's Office, sometimes in conjunction with
other officials, to check "compliance with legislation on freedom of
conscience and religious associations", in some cases also anti-extremism
legislation and fire safety.
In addition, prosecutors may summon leaders of a community for
"conversations" about why they have not submitted notification of the
beginning of their religious groups' activities.
(These actions may derive from FSB security service or police surveillance
or internet monitoring, or an earlier administrative prosecution of a
religious leader or member for "unlawful missionary activity".
Missionary-related prosecutions may also follow inspections.)
Prosecutors then lodge an administrative or civil lawsuit at a district
court "in the interests of an undefined circle of persons". Prosecutors
request that the judge prohibit the community's activities until it submits
the required notification (which, on principle, Council of Churches
Baptists do not want to do).
Once a court ruling enters legal force (after one month or upon an
unsuccessful appeal), it is subject to enforcement by bailiffs. If they
believe a religious community is continuing to operate, they may issue a
fine to the leader. Ultimately, they may seal the community's building to
prevent its use for worship.
Court decisions explicitly prohibit a community's activities not only at
the address they habitually use, but also "on the territory of" the town or
district. This means that they cannot simply move to different premises.
Legal context
Lawyers familiar with recent cases of bans on church activities note that
there are no clear criteria for the creation of a religious group
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Court and Supreme Court rulings have only slightly clarified the situation,
and much is still left to the discretion of prosecutors and judges.
The Religion Law requires all unregistered religious associations to notify
the authorities (usually regional branches of the Justice Ministry) of
their existence and activities. Failure to notify does not constitute a
specific offence, although it can be prosecuted under Administrative Code
Article 19.5 ("Failure to comply with a legal order (resolution,
submission, decision) of a body (official) exercising state supervision
(control)".
On 27 December 2016, the Plenum of the Supreme Court issued a resolution
partially clarifying the process of prohibiting a religious group's
activities.
Point 24 of this resolution states that religious groups' activities may be
prohibited if they carry out "activities prohibited by law, or in violation
of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, or with other repeated or
gross violations of the law or other legal acts", but also, crucially, that
"Based on the specifics of the creation and legal status of a religious
group, as enshrined in the Law on Freedom of Conscience, failure to submit
notification of the commencement of its activities cannot in itself be
grounds for prohibiting the activities of such a group".
Point 26 acknowledges that "the law does not establish a list of gross
violations", and therefore it is up to the courts to "assess whether a
violation of the law committed by a citizens' association is gross and
entails liquidation or prohibition of activities". Gross violations, this
paragraph adds, "include those that make it impossible to remedy them by
lawful means".
"The impossibility of remedying the violation is a prerequisite for banning
its activities", lawyer and freedom of religion or belief advocate Sergey
Chugunov pointed out on his Telegram channel (https://t.me/chugunovsv/446)
on 23 October 2025, following another community's unsuccessful appeal
against a ban. "However, in these cases, courts themselves state in their
decisions that activities are prohibited until notification is submitted.
Consequently, the violation (even if considered as such) is remediable,
meaning the ban is unlawful."
Bans on religious communities' activities "must be overturned", Chugunov
believes. "However, this practice is only growing".
Because the Religion Law sets out no clear criteria, "any joint confession
can still be interpreted by law enforcement as the creation of a religious
group that has not notified [the Justice Ministry] of its activities",
Chugunov wrote on his Telegram channel on 3 November 2022.
In another Telegram post of 3 December 2025, Chugunov draws a distinction
(https://t.me/chugunovsv/456) between religious groups and less formal
"home groups" [domashniye gruppy]. He points out that, under the 1997
Religion Law, people may exercise their constitutional right to practice
any religion together with others, "including by creating religious
associations" – that is, without creating religious associations, if they
wish. "Thus, citizens have the right to gather in homes without observing
any formalities."
Nevertheless, "This right is often questioned by law enforcement officers",
Chugunov notes, which can lead to accusations of not having notified the
Justice Ministry of the creation of a religious group, "I categorically
disagree with these charges, but they may be brought".
"If the practice against these [Council of Churches Baptist] churches
holds, the next step will be to outlaw home groups of believers who gather
under constitutional law without forming associations."
Council of Churches Baptists argue that they are individual citizens
gathering to worship together as is their constitutional right, without the
establishment of any formal association. Prosecutors argue that what they
do – meeting regularly, performing "religious rites and ceremonies",
sometimes sharing their faith with others – means that they constitute a
religious group as defined by the Religion Law.
Linked "unlawful missionary activity" prosecutions
Lawsuits to ban religious communities' activities are almost always linked
to accusations of "unlawful missionary activity", punishable under
Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 4
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
both because it can be used as evidence of the de facto existence of a
religious group, and because it provides additional grounds for
prohibition, given that lack of notification is in itself not enough.
The written authorisation required to conduct missionary activity on behalf
of a religious group includes "written confirmation of receipt and
registration of the notification of the [group's] creation and commencement
of activities". The lack of such notification is therefore often taken as
evidence of "unlawful missionary activity", even if no group in fact
exists.
Rostov Region: Another church's activities to be banned?
On 12 December 2025, prosecutors in Rostov-on-Don registered an
administrative lawsuit at Kirov District Court against one of the city's
Council of Churches Baptist communities. The prosecutors are requesting
that the court ban the church's activities on the grounds that it has not
submitted notification of the commencement of its activities.
The first hearing took place on 20 January 2026, but Judge Alisa Babakova
adjourned proceedings to 9 February 2026, according to the court website.
As in many such cases, this lawsuit appears to stem from an inspection of
the building in which the congregation holds its services, and a subsequent
administrative prosecution of the pastor, Oleg Volkov, for "unlawful
missionary activity".
Federal Security Service (FSB) officers, National Guard troops, and
prosecutor's office and fire service officials came to the church on 12
November 2025, the Council of Churches Baptists' Intercession Department
noted on 26 December 2025 (https://telegra.ph/Soobshchen
inspected the hall in which the community had been worshipping, and
questioned several congregants and the owner of the building.
Officials then summoned Pastor Volkov to Kirov District Prosecutor's Office
to provide a statement. Prosecutors charged him under Administrative Code
Article 5.26 Part 4, explicitly for having "conducted missionary activity
without providing written notification of the commencement of the religious
group's activities", and "disseminated information about his faith to those
gathered using specialised literature – the Bible", according to the
Intercession Department.
On 16 December 2025, Kirov District Magistrate's Court No. 3 found Pastor
Volkov guilty and fined him 7,000 Roubles (several days' average local
wages). He appealed unsuccessfully at Kirov District Court on 27 January
2026.
Forum 18 wrote to Kirov District Prosecutor's Office, Rostov City
Prosecutor's Office, and Rostov Regional Prosecutor's Office on 27 January
2026, asking why prosecutors were seeking to have the church's activities
prohibited. Forum 18 had received no response by the end of the working day
in Rostov of 2 February.
Amur Region: New ruling on notification, no ban yet
On 5 December 2025, Blagoveshchensk City Court ruled that Pastor Vladislav
Girko must submit notification of the activities of his Council of Churches
Baptist church within two months of the decision entering legal force.
Prosecutors had also requested that the court order Pastor Girko to
resubmit notification every year, but Judge Timofey Kuzmin concluded that
this would be premature.
The court decision will come into force either on 12 February 2026 (one
month after it was issued in final written form) or upon an unsuccessful
appeal. It is unknown whether Pastor Girko will challenge the ruling.
Unlike in other such cases, prosecutors did not request a ban on the
church's activities (though it is unclear whether they did so in an earlier
iteration of their civil lawsuit). On 21 November 2025, Judge Kuzmin
restarted proceedings for a third time (on two previous occasions, this had
taken place in order to add new parties to the case), after prosecutors
"significantly softened" their demands, according to the Blagoveshchensk
Baptists.
Initially, prosecutors had wanted the community to register as a religious
organisation, i.e. a legal entity, the Baptists told the Portal Vernost
Telegram channel (https://t.me/s/vernost_info/1
Prosecutors later demanded that they submit notification of its activities
as a religious group.
According to the community, this shift was "a direct confirmation of our
initial legal position, which we have previously stated. We have always
maintained that our activities are completely legitimate as a religious
group in accordance with Article 7 of [the 1997 Religion Law]."
"Effectively, the subject of the dispute in court has narrowed," church
members declared. "Instead of a demand for forced registration, the issue
now boils down to notifying the government agency of our existence, which
is a right, not an obligation, for a religious group, but which the
prosecutor insists on."
The City Prosecutor's Office, the Amur Region branches of the FSB and
National Guard, and Emergencies Ministry personnel carried out
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
legality of the use of the house of prayer" on 27 May 2025, during which
they questioned Pastor Girko.
Later, officials twice summoned Girko to the prosecutor's office, "where he
was familiarised with the lawsuit to compel the registration of the
church", the Urgent Prayer Messages Telegram channel reported on 13 June
2025.
"The 'inspection' predictably 'revealed' the illegality of holding
religious meetings in the house, and during 'questioning' Girko was
strongly recommended to register the community, warning that in case of
refusal, criminal liability would follow", Novaya Gazeta Europe commented
on the case
(https://novayagazeta.eu/artic
12 August 2025.
Prosecutors lodged their lawsuit on 11 June 2025 (why this was a civil,
rather than an administrative, suit is unclear).
Pastor Girko also faced prosecution for "unlawful missionary activity"
under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 4 and for "violation of
requirements for anti-terrorist protection of a facility" under
Administrative Code Article 20.35, Part 2.
Blagoveshchensk City Magistrate's Court No. 8 fined Pastor Girko 5,000
Roubles (several days' average local wages) on 29 July 2025 for the former
offence, according to court records. The punishment was explicitly for
"disseminating information about [the church's] doctrine among persons who
are not members of the religious group, with the aim of involving said
persons" in the community (because worship services were open to all),
without having submitted notification of his religious group's activities
or applied for registration as a religious organisation. The pastor
appealed unsuccessfully at Blagoveshchensk City Court on 8 September 2025.
It appears that the second charge did not reach court.
Krasnodar Region: Church building unsealed, indoor services resume
On Christmas Eve, 24 December 2025, bailiffs in Kurganinsk removed the
seals they had placed on the doors of the town's Council of Churches
Baptist church more than seven months before. The church's congregation
were permitted to re-enter the building, and worship services have since
resumed inside.
They had been holding services out-of-doors since 16 May 2025, when
bailiffs arrived to seal the church shortly after Pastor Aleksandr Chmykh's
unsuccessful cassational appeal against a court order banning the
community's activities.
Kurganinsk District Court told Forum 18 in March 2025
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
suspended the church's activities "until the elimination of violations by
means of sending notification of the beginning of the activities of a
religious group to the Office of the Justice Ministry for Krasnodar Region.
After the elimination of violations, activity can be resumed."
The Kurganinsk Baptist community has submitted the required notification, a
church member confirmed to Forum 18 on 22 January 2026. Although Council of
Churches Baptists on principle do not seek any form of state registration,
the Congress of the International Church of Evangelical Christian-Baptists
authorised the Council of Churches in Russia "to decide on the notification
issue in exceptional circumstances". The latter then "granted Kurganinsk
exception permission to submit notification without specifying the full
list of members".
"A reasonable compromise has been reached, and several members of the
congregation have signed the notification of the group's commencement, even
though this is not in the tradition of this denomination", lawyer Anatoly
Pchelintsev, who has followed several of the lawsuits against Baptist
churches, commented on his Telegram channel (https://t.me/advocatavp/628)
on 28 December 2025. "It is up to the legislator to formulate clearer rules
in this regard."
No other Council of Churches Baptist community whose activities have been
banned has been granted similar permission to submit notification.
Kurganinsk District Court issued its ruling banning the church's activities
on 6 September 2024. Pastor Chmykh appealed unsuccessfully at Krasnodar
Regional Court on 26 November 2024 and the 4th Cassational Court on 7 May
2025. Russia's Supreme Court rejected his appeal without consideration on
29 August 2025.
Kurganinsk prosecutors based their lawsuit
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Pastor Aleksandr Chmykh for "unlawful missionary activity", videos of
worship services and other events on the church's YouTube channel, and
their own inspection of the premises.
The inspection was itself triggered by FSB surveillance of "systematic
conduct of illegal missionary religious events". These included "an
unauthorised mass event 'Conference on Evangelism' of the Caucasian
Association of the International Union of Churches of Evangelical
Christians-Baptists", attended by more than 1,000 people.
Mostly unsuccessful appeals: Krasnodar Region, Mari-El Republic
Council of Churches Baptist churches already subject to bans on their
activities have repeatedly appealed against the court rulings, almost
always unsuccessfully. Once a court decision enters legal force, a church
is at risk of being sealed by bailiffs if the community does not cease its
activities. So far, only one church – in Kurganinsk – is known to have
been sealed (and has now been reopened – see above).
On 10 February 2026, the 6th Cassational Court in Samara is due to consider
a cassational appeal by four Baptists – Viktor Araslanov and Svetlana
Araslanova (in whose house their congregation meets), Ferdinand Gayfullin,
and Anatoly Chendemerov – against the prohibition of the activities of
their church in Yoshkar-Ola, capital of the Mari El Republic.
Yoshkar-Ola City Court initially upheld prosecutors' request
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
2025. The Supreme Court of the Mari El Republic upheld the ruling on 23
October 2025.
On 30 September 2025, Armavir City Court in Krasnodar Region upheld
prosecutors' request to have the activities of the local Council of
Churches community banned. The community subsequently missed the deadline
for lodging an appeal, according to the court website.
Armavir City Court registered a private appeal [chastnaya zhaloba] from the
community on 10 December 2025, and passed it to Krasnodar Regional Court on
28 January 2026. The Regional Court has not yet listed any hearings.
Also in Krasnodar Region, Timashyovsk District Court banned the activities
(https://forum18.org/archive.p
Churches Baptist church on 13 October 2025. The ruling entered legal force
on 21 January 2026, when Pastor Andrey Antonyuk appealed unsuccessfully at
Krasnodar Regional Court.
In another Krasnodar Region case, Tuapse City Court upheld prosecutors'
administrative lawsuit on 22 September 2025, and rejected Pastor Anatoly
Mukhin's initial appeal without consideration on 29 October 2025 (because
it deemed him not to have the authority to file an appeal, according to
another Krasnodar Region Baptist who has been following the case).
Pastor Mukhin then submitted a private appeal. Upon considering this on 20
January 2026, Krasnodar Regional Court overturned the lower court ruling
because of "violation or incorrect application of the norms of procedural
law", according to the Regional Court website, and issued a new decision.
It is unclear whether this means that the ban itself has been overturned.
Forum 18 wrote to the Krasnodar Region court system's unified press service
on 27 January 2026, asking for clarification. Forum 18 had received no
response by the end of the working day in Krasnodar Region of 2 February.
(END)
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia
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(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
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