Prosecutors in Russia are continuing to bring lawsuits against Council of Churches Baptist churches and their leaders in an attempt to prohibit their activities because of their refusal to undergo any form of state registration. In August, a court in the Republic of Mordoviya banned the activities of a Baptist community in the Republic's capital Saransk. The judge agreed with prosecutors' argument that the community's failure to submit notification of its existence to the Justice Ministry constituted "a threat to public interests, public order, and national security". Church leaders are appealing to the Republic's Supreme Court.

Forum 18 asked the District Prosecutor's Office, the Republic of Mordoviya's Prosecutor's Office, and the District Court why the church's activities had been deemed a threat to public order and safety, and whether the church would be permitted to resume its activities if it submitted notification to the Justice Ministry. None of them replied (see below).

In spring 2026, one court in Rostov-on-Don upheld prosecutors' lawsuit against a Council of Churches community in the city's Pervomaysky District. Another Rostov court refused prosecutors' request to ban the activities of a church in Kirov District and gave the community seven days to submit the required notification. The assistant prosecutor argued in court that the Baptists' "prolonged failure to legalise the activity and refusal to acknowledge the notification requirement hinder state oversight". Submitting notification is "a necessary and sufficient condition to resolve the issues raised", he insisted (see below).

Forum 18 wrote to Kirov District Prosecutor's Office, which initiated the lawsuit, Rostov City Prosecutor's Office, which directed it to do so, and Rostov Regional Prosecutor's Office, asking why prosecutors had initially sought to have the church's activities prohibited. None of them replied (see below).

Prosecutors frequently argue that failure to notify Justice Ministry authorities of a religious group's activities constitutes a threat to public order, public safety, and even national security. They often cite alleged "missionary activity" – usually no more than ordinary worship meetings on church premises – as grounds for requesting a ban on activities, as lack of notification is not in itself sufficient under the law (see below).

Courts are known to have so far issued bans on the activities of twelve Council of Churches communities, most of them 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 (see below).

Such court-imposed bans often follow raids on Council of Churches Baptist communities by Prosecutor's Office and Federal Security Service (FSB) officials (see below).

Council of Churches Baptist communities continue to meet for worship regardless of any court decisions to ban their activities. So far, the Kurganinsk community in Krasnodar Region, which at present is the only congregation to lose access to its church building, is the only one known to have 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, Ulyanovsk Region, and the Republic of Mordoviya in central Russia, the Far Eastern Amur Region, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Western Siberia, and Rostov Region, also in southern European Russia (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.

Such communities 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 in residential premises?

After two earlier iterations stalled before reaching their first reading, yet another bill is now passing through the Duma, the lower house of parliament, aiming to prohibit almost all religious activity in residential premises.

The previous bill, introduced in June 2025, was removed from consideration in March 2026. Sixty-six Duma deputies had already proposed a new one in February 2026. The Duma's Committee on the Development of Civil Society and Issues of Public and Religious Associations approved this second bill on 17 March. It has not yet been considered in the Duma, and no date for this has yet been set.

Among those proposing the new amendments are the leaders of the Communist, Liberal Democratic, New People, and A Just Russia parties, as well as numerous United Russia deputies. (All these parties support the Kremlin's policies, as officials prevent opposition parties from standing in elections.)

"This means that, this time, the bill is virtually certain to be passed," religion commentator Aleksandr Soldatov wrote in the independent Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta on 11 March.

The new bill would amend Russia's Religion Law and Housing Code to specify that religious services may be conducted on residential premises "exclusively for the purpose of satisfying the individual spiritual needs of persons residing therein on legal grounds" – i.e. only members of a household. The bill adds: "The conducting of worship services, other religious rites and ceremonies, as well as prayer and religious gatherings, is prohibited in non-residential premises within apartment buildings and in premises built into or attached to them".

The bill would also ban "missionary activity" in residential premises.

If passed, these amendments would particularly affect Council of Churches Baptists and some Muslims, as well as other religious communities which encounter difficulties building their own places of worship, or buying or renting property which is not officially designated as residential. These may include Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, other Protestants, Buddhists, Neopagans, and some Orthodox Christians who do not belong to the Moscow Patriarchate, religion commentator Soldatov noted.

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. Such inspections are 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 Federal Security Service (FSB) 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 1997 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 of this resolution 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."

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 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. This 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", he wrote. "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 prosecutions for "unlawful missionary activity"

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 such a prosecution 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.

Republic of Mordoviya: Court bans Church's activities

On 20 August, October District Court in Saransk – capital of the Republic of Mordoviya – issued a ruling banning the activities of the city's Council of Churches Baptist community "until violations of federal legislation are eliminated by submitting notification of the commencement of the religious group's activities" to Mordoviya's Justice Ministry branch.

Presbyter Vitaly Timoshin, Andrey Voronin, and Sergey Romanov (who also both appear to hold positions of authority in the church) – whom prosecutors named as respondents to the lawsuit – registered an appeal against the court decision on 28 September. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Mordoviya has not yet listed any hearings.

Between 17 and 26 April, an officer of the Interior Ministry's Centre for Countering Extremism carried out surveillance of the church's premises on Leningradskaya Street in Saransk. They also interviewed local residents who lived nearby, according to the written court decision, seen by Forum 18. On 30 April, a Federal Security Service (FSB) investigator established that a Baptist church operated at the property and interviewed a person who had taken part in worship there.

"The group holds meetings three times a week, on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, during which religious services and rituals (such as the singing of religious songs and the recitation of prayers) are conducted, and missionary activities take place, including the distribution of religious materials (such as books, including those intended for minors, and newspapers)", the FSB investigation found, according to the court decision.

The Republic's Interior Ministry informed prosecutors of the church's "unlawful activity" in May. Shortly afterwards, prosecutors carried out an inspection of "compliance with federal legislation on religious associations" at the church's premises.

This inspection concluded that the Baptists had been holding worship services at the property, incorporating "religious rituals" and "missionary activity", for over five years, thereby "effectively constituting a religious group". The church had not submitted any notification of its activities to Justice Ministry authorities, which prosecutors argued "poses a threat to public interests, public order, and national security, thereby infringing upon the rights and interests of an indefinite number of persons, including minors".

Prosecutors lodged their administrative suit at October District Court on 24 June.

In court, Pastor Timoshin and his fellow respondents argued that a religious group's activities cannot be banned solely on the grounds of failure to submit notification of its activities, and that their church did not engage in any unlawful activity and was no threat to public safety.

Judge Aleksandr Nazarov noted, however, that Pastor Timoshin had been convicted of "unlawful missionary activity" under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 4 in April 2024.

"In the court's view", the judge concluded, "the conduct of missionary activities by the aforementioned religious group constitutes a gross violation of the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and [the Religion Law], and poses a threat to public interests, national security, and public order, as well as to the rights and interests of an indefinite number of persons, including minors, drawn into the group's activities through such unlawful missionary work."

Forum 18 wrote to October District Prosecutor's Office, the Republic of Mordoviya's Prosecutor's Office, and October District Court on 28 September to ask why the church's activities had been deemed a threat to public order and safety, and whether the church would be permitted to resume its activities if it submitted notification to the Justice Ministry.
Forum 18 had received no response by the middle of the working day in Saransk of 6 October.

Rostov-on-Don: Court bans one Church's activities

Rostov-on-Don's Pervomaysky District Court banned the activities of the Council of Churches Baptist community on Shcherbakova Street on 1 April. Judge Natalya Shchedrina ruled that the ban would remain in place until the church submitted notification of its activities to the Rostov Region branch of the Justice Ministry.

The community did not appeal, yet appears to have remained active.

Prosecutors inspected the church for "compliance with legislation on freedom of conscience and religious associations" on 5 December 2025, accompanied by the Federal Security Service (FSB). They found that "illegal religious events are systematically held at this address, involving local residents and other individuals, including minors", which anyone who wishes can attend, according to the written court decision, seen by Forum 18.

At the time of the inspection, senior presbyter Yury Shumeyko was giving a sermon, in which he "disseminated information about his religious doctrine .. using specialised literature (the Bible), in violation of the [Religion Law]". Prosecutors concluded that this constituted "missionary activity".

In their lawsuit, lodged on 4 March 2026, prosecutors argued that, "As the religious group engages in the profession of religion, its activities affect the rights of an indefinite circle of persons". By refusing to submit notification of its activities, the church was violating the rights of this "indefinite circle of persons (the composition of which is constantly changing)" and "infringing upon the interests of the Russian Federation, given that the group conducts its activities in violation of Russian legislation, which in turn undermines the authority of state bodies", prosecutors added.

As in other, similar cases, Judge Shchedrina concluded that a lack of notification threatens "public interests, national security, and public order" – the last of which she defines as "the relationships essential for the normal functioning of the entire system of social relations, based on the principles of the inviolability of the individual, moral standards, and the preservation of public tranquillity" – as well as the rights of anyone "drawn into the group's activities through unlawful missionary work".

Neither Pastor Shumeyko nor anyone else associated with the church appears to have been prosecuted for "unlawful missionary activity" before the prosecutor's office inspection in December 2025.

Nevertheless, the fact that Pastor Shumeyko was allegedly preaching when Prosecutor's Office officials arrived for the inspection led to his being charged under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 4 ("Russians conducting missionary activity"). Pervomaysky District Magistrate's Court No. 9 fined him on 2 March 2026.

Forum 18 wrote to Pervomaysky District Prosecutor's Office, Rostov City Prosecutor's Office, and Rostov Regional Prosecutor's Office on 29 September, asking why the church's activities had been deemed a threat to public order and safety, and whether it would be able to resume its activities if it submitted notification to the Justice Ministry. Forum 18 put the same questions to Pervomaysky District Court on 30 September. Forum 18 had received no response by the middle of the working day in Rostov of 6 October.

Rostov-on-Don: Court partially upholds lawsuit against another Church

On 2 March, Rostov's Kirov District Court ordered another Council of Churches Baptist community, based in the city's Stanislavsky Street, to submit notification of its activities to the Justice Ministry within seven days of the court ruling entering legal force. Judge Alisa Babakova refused, however, to uphold prosecutors' request that the church's activities be suspended in the meantime.

Neither prosecutors nor Baptist leaders have appealed against the court's decision, and the church appears to have remained active.

Prosecutors registered an administrative lawsuit against Pastor Oleg Volkov's church on 12 December 2025. They initially requested that the court prohibit the community's activities. They later amended the suit, however, to have Pastor Volkov obliged to submit notification and have the church activities suspended until he does so, according to the court decision, seen by Forum 18.

As in many such cases, the lawsuit appeared to stem from an inspection by Prosecutor's Office and FSB officials of the Baptists' "compliance with legislation on freedom of conscience and religious associations", and a subsequent administrative prosecution of Pastor Volkov for "unlawful missionary activity".

After the inspection on 12 November 2025, Kirov District Prosecutor's Office summoned Pastor Volkov 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 having "disseminated information about his faith to those gathered using specialised literature – the Bible", the Council of Churches Baptists' Intercession Department noted on 26 December 2025.

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).

"Failure to submit notification of the commencement of activities to the registration authority is not an act which, from the point of view of Russian legislation and common sense, poses a public danger", the Council of Churches Baptists' Intercession Department argued on its Telegram channel on 3 February 2026.

"Collective worship of God, shared prayers, hymns, and sermons constitute an essential spiritual need for believing citizens and are guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution, as well as Article 2 of the Religion Law," the Intercession Department insisted. "In accordance with Article 16 of the Religion Law, citizens have the right to conduct worship services, religious rites, and ceremonies in residential premises without hindrance and without any additional conditions or notifications."

According to the 2 March 2026 court decision, the prosecutors found that "illegal religious gatherings" of about a hundred people, including minors, were being "systematically held in a residential property". At the time of the November 2025 inspection, Pastor Volkov was "conducting missionary activity in the residence, presenting himself as the presbyter (leader) of the International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian-Baptists, a church not registered in the manner prescribed by law .. preaching religious doctrine to a group of citizens and disseminating information about his religious doctrine to these individuals using specialised literature (the Bible) in violation of [the Religion Law]".

In court, an assistant prosecutor testified that "religious activities were regularly conducted at this address" and that Pastor Volkov's December 2025 conviction under Article 5.26, Part 4 "confirms the classification of these activities as missionary work", further demonstrated by their "unrestricted access, systematic nature, and public accessibility".

The assistant prosecutor argued that the Baptists' "prolonged failure to legalise the activity and refusal to acknowledge the notification requirement hinder state oversight". Submitting notification is "a necessary and sufficient condition to resolve the issues raised"; therefore, prosecutors were not demanding a total ban on the congregation's activities.

Pastor Oleg Volkov stated in court that local officials, police, and prosecutors had frequently visited his church, and "no violations, complaints, or prohibitions have been recorded, which attests to the law-abiding nature of their activities". He argued that he and his congregants were "exercising their lawful right to profess their faith collectively, conduct worship services, read the Bible, and sing spiritual songs", activities which do not constitute missionary activity and are not illegal.

Judge Babakova concluded that Pastor Volkov's conviction under Article 5.26, Part 4, details of church services posted online, and the results of the Prosecutor's Office inspection were evidence that "the dissemination of information regarding religious doctrine using the Bible at the premises located at [Stanislavsky Street] is systematic in nature, access to the events is unrestricted, and the premises are designed to accommodate individuals beyond just the members of the religious group. The open nature of the religious events, their systematic conduct, and the arrangement of the premises to accommodate an indefinite circle of visitors indicate the carrying out of such activity".

The judge disregarded Pastor Volkov's arguments about violation of freedom of religion. She noted that "The legislature's objective is to prevent the formation of extremist (terrorist) associations within the territory of Russia – an aim that fully aligns with the provisions of Article 13 of the Constitution and is directed at enhancing the transparency of religious associations' activities and enabling the bodies of the Russian Justice Ministry to exercise their powers of state oversight over such activities".

Nevertheless, Judge Babakova declined to prohibit or suspend the church's activities before the submission of notification. Unlike judges in similar cases – including in Saransk (see above) – she concluded that the church's alleged "missionary activity" did not constitute a "gross violation" of the law. She noted that there was only one conviction under Article 5.26, Part 4, immediately before prosecutors filed their lawsuit, and no evidence of "sustained activity requiring notification to a state authority", or of any earlier measures taken by the Prosecutor's Office or the district administration.

"The court is firmly convinced that the claims seeking to prohibit or suspend the activities of the religious group at this time are premature; consequently, these demands are denied in their entirety", the judge ruled.

This is the first example known to Forum 18 of a court refusing to suspend or prohibit a religious community's activities until they submit notification to Justice Ministry authorities. (In Blagoveshchensk in December 2025, prosecutors themselves withdrew their request for a ban on a Council of Churches Baptist community.) This indicates that a ban is not necessary for the notification requirement to be enforced.

Forum 18 wrote to Kirov District Prosecutor's Office, which initiated the lawsuit, Rostov City Prosecutor's Office, which directed it to do so, and Rostov Regional Prosecutor's office on 27 January 2026, and again on 30 September 2026, asking why prosecutors had initially sought to have the church's activities prohibited. Forum 18 had received no response by the middle of the working day in Rostov of 6 October. (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

Follow us on Bluesky @Forum18

Follow us on Facebook @Forum18NewsService

Follow us on Telegram @Forum18NewsService

Follow us on WhatsApp Forum 18

Follow us on X/Twitter @Forum_18

All Forum 18 material may be referred to, quoted from, or republished in full, if Forum 18 is credited as the source.

All photographs that are not Forum 18's copyright are attributed to the copyright owner. If you reuse any photographs from Forum 18's website, you must seek permission for any reuse from the copyright owner or abide by the copyright terms the copyright owner has chosen.

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.