On April 29, four Christians were fined by the peace court of the Kirovsky district of Kazan, Russia, for “illegal missionary work.” They were each fined 15,000 Russian rubles (about $200).

Ivan Moshechkov, Mikhail Dresvyannikov, Anton Guberbernov, and Farhat Aitov are members of the International Union of Evangelical Baptist Christians, a group that refuses to register with the state.

On Feb. 22, the four preachers conducted a service inside a private house. While it was going on, an assistant prosecutor and three security officers entered, waited until after the meeting, and then arrested them. They said that since no religious community was registered at that address, the worship service was illegal, and they would be tried in court for their actions.

The Christians were prosecuted under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 4, which addresses Russians conducting illegal missionary activity. While some may face fines of up to 50,000 rubles, Article 5.26, Part 5, also provides that they may be banned from the country.

This is yet another incident of Russian officials cracking down on religion this year. In March, Vladimir Rytikov was expelled from a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine, where he was born and raised, for pastoring a church that belonged to a Baptist coalition of churches that does not seek government registration.

The Russian Federation is ranked No. 56 on Open Door’s Watch List of the most dangerous places to be a Christian. While few Christians are killed for their faith, the number of Christians being arrested in Russia is rising.

Story by Bella Agnello

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