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 in August 2025.

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 – permit them to meet for worship 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 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.

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 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 may begin with an 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, that Constitutional 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 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 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. This is apparently 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. They 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 on 21 November 2025. 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 an "inspection of the 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 on 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 that its decision 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 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 on the prosecution of 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 for a ban on 24 July 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 of the town's Council of 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

For background information see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey

Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments

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