On July 20, major encroachment was placed on Christians in Russia.
Inserted into legislation posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the “Yarovaya package,” supposedly designed to counter terrorism, made it illegal to express one’s faith by house church meetings, “undocumented” missionary work, and even places limits on sanctioned church buildings. In terms of religious liberties and human rights, a cataclysm.
As reported by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, individuals who violate the aforementioned enactments are subject to fines of up to $15,000. These fines can be issued for “preaching, praying, proselytizing, and disseminating religious materials outside of these officially designated sites (churches) … private residences or distributed through mass print, broadcast or online media,” according to USCIRF.
This comes on the tail end of tense relations between the U.S. and Russia regarding Ukraine and military involvement in Syria, as well as suspicions of cyberwarfare attacks by the “Sand Worm Team,” sourced out of Russia against the U.S. Not to mention dangerous and “teasing” flybys of Russian jets past U.S. naval ships in the Baltic Sea.
We’re being sent a message: Russia isn’t playing by the rules of today.
