Why?
Jews, Moslems and Orthodox Christians are free to practice their religion. In fact, many Orthodox Churches have been rebuilt with help from the state. How many churches in the USA have been built with tax dollars?
What kind of freedom of religion is it in the USA when in Los Angeles the city is forbidden to portray a Catholic Church with a cross on top of it? What kind of freedom of religion is it when Catholics are required to pay for contraceptives under Obama? When was the last time you saw Obama kissing an icon? What kind of freedom of religion is it when a baker is required to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple, or else the gestappo will intervene?
The
constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice; however, in some cases authorities imposed restrictions on certain groups. Although the constitution provides for the equality of all religions before the law and the separation of church and state, the Government did not always respect these provisions.
Conditions improved for some minority religious groups while remaining largely the same for most, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion for most of the population. Some federal agencies, such as the Federal Registration Service, and many local authorities, continued to restrict the rights of a few religious minorities. Legal obstacles to registration under a complex 1997 law “On Freedom of Conscience and Associations” (the 1997 Law) continued to seriously disadvantage some religious groups considered nontraditional. There were indications that the security services, including the Federal Security Service (FSB), treated the leadership of some Islamic groups as security threats.
There were reports of
societal abuses and
discrimination based on religious belief or practice. Religious matters were not a source of social tension or problems for the large majority of citizens, but there were some problems between majority and minority groups.
Prejudices against non-Orthodox religions were behind manifestations of anti-Semitism and occasional friction with non Orthodox Christian denominations. Because
racism and religious bigotry are often intertwined, it was sometimes difficult to determine which prejudice was the primary motivation behind discrimination against members of religious groups. Conservative activists claiming ties to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) occasionally disseminated negative publications and held protest meetings against religions considered nontraditional, including alternative Orthodox congregations. Some ROC clergy stated publicly their opposition to any expansion of the presence of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and other non-Orthodox denominations.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Russia
So ask Roman Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews and Muslims in Russia and they will tell you
