Lawrence A. Uzzell

*http://www.portal-credo.ru/   Probably the most useful of all Moscow websites on religion, with quick links to articles published in other publications, including hard-to-find provincial and ecclesiastical periodicals. Credo’s own articles and commentaries strongly affirm religious freedom. Editor Aleksandr Soldatov usually favors “alternative Orthodox” groups and is now on a crusade against the reunion of the Moscow Patriarchate with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

*http://www.religare.ru/   Second only to portal-credo in its usefulness. This site has a good range of links to other sources. It is not always aggressive in criticizing the powers that be, but nevertheless does carry a reasonably wide range of opinion.

*http://religion.ng.ru/   The religion supplement of the Moscow daily Nezavisimaya gazeta. It normally is cautious about criticizing the Moscow Patriarchate, but is often sympathetic to religious freedom. It is intellectually curious about religions other than Orthodoxy and is unusual for a Russian source in providing a range of opinions.

http://mitropoliya.org/   Information from Old Believers in the former Soviet Union with an emphasis on the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Kornili.

http://iucecb.com/news/   Official site of the unregistered “initsiativniki” Baptists. This dissident group split from the registered Baptist Union in 1961 and to this day is scandalously neglected by most self-styled defenders of religious freedom among American Protestants.

http://www.mk.ru/   Moskovski komsomolets, a stronghold of opposition to Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk. It frequently disseminates accusations of corruption in the Moscow Patriarchate. While sometimes biased, the site does provide useful information not easily available elsewhere.

http://www.mn.ru/   Weekly Moskovskie novosti. Its main focus is on secular politics, but it does include religious news from the standpoint of Moscow’s democratic intelligentsia, with strong coverage of “alternative Orthodox” groups. Moskovskie novosti has just changed ownership, raising fears among human-rights advocates that it may become much more servile to the government.

http://www.newizv.ru/   The pro-reform daily, Novye izvestia, with only occasional coverage of religion. It is willing to criticize the Moscow Patriarchate and sometimes displays a liberal, secular bias.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/   Takes a nationalist, anti-freedom position. The site generally reflects the ideological stance of Moscow’s influential Sretensky Monastery.

http://www.radrad.ru/   Also nationalist and anti-freedom. Radonezh, however, is more articulate and interesting than the often bureaucratic website of the Moscow Patriarchate.

http://www.religio.ru/news/index.html   Stronger on facts than analysis. This site provides a great deal of fresh news about a wide range of religions.

http://religion.russ.ru/   The religion supplement to Russki zhurnal. Maksim Shevchenko’s columns are always interesting. Guest columns range from spokesmen for the Moscow Patriarchate to Protestant pastors.

http://www.sova-center.ru/   News and analysis from defenders of confessional pluralism. This site contains useful information about anti-Semitism and other dangers.

http://www.an.mrezha.ru/zhizn/   A Russian anti-abortion movement website.

http://www.russian-orthodox-church.org.ru/   The official website of the Moscow Patriarchate, accessible in English as well as Russian. It often is highly bureaucratic, but indispensable.

*Highly Recommended

Lawrence A Uzzell is president of Human Rights Religion Watch, Fishersville, Virginia.

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© 2005 East-West Church and Ministry Report
ISSN 1069-5664