Church of Scientology Opens New Church in the Heart of Moscow

Church of Scientology Opens New Church in the Heart of Moscow

Commemorating this new Scientology Church, Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the religion, declared: “It has been said that Russia cannot be understood with the intellect, that it cannot be measured by any common standard and that it can only be believed in. Well, let Russia now believe this: The Church that now stands in Moscow possesses a technology that is all but synonymous with the human spirit. It is a technology to bring forth the goodness in people and the greatness they are destined to achieve. It is a technology that is both kind and strong. It is a technology for freedom and wisdom.”

Scientology established its first Church in the Russian Federation in 1993 after the fall of communism and has seen phenomenal growth in the years since. It has been recognized as a leading voice in the fight for universal human rights.

The new Moscow Church not only meets the needs of its growing congregation of Scientologists, but also serves as the center for all faiths to unite for community betterment and social improvement in the name of religious freedom.

The Church of Scientology of Moscow further coordinates the Church’s many humanitarian initiatives. The 65,000-square-foot building houses a Public Information Display presenting an introduction to all Church-sponsored programs, including those dedicated to drug education, literacy and human rights. The new Church also provides public conference rooms and an auditorium for religious community functions.

The Moscow Church already stands at the forefront of Russia’s greater human rights movement. It works in coordination with the internationally renowned Moscow Helsinki Group, founded by Ms. Lyudmila Alexeyeva. Ms. Alexeyeva is one of the original Soviet era dissidents to decry communist oppression. She is also the recipient of the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. On the occasion of the Moscow Church opening, Ms. Alexeyeva stated: “For me, as a human rights advocate, all religions are equal in their rights. Your Church is particularly devoted to defending the freedom of belief not only for its own parishioners but for all religious people of any denomination.”

The Church’s religious freedom victories are now legend. Scientology’s landmark decisions before the European Court of Human Rights set the standard for religious rights in all 47 member states. In recognition of what this new Church of Scientology represents to religious freedom, Mr. Boris Nikolayevich Panteleyev from the Russian Federation’s Public Chamber stated: “The precedents you have set in the European Court of Human Rights regarding your Church are very important for all those who stand for religious freedom. Today all lawyers, religious scholars, human rights advocates and representatives of other faiths carefully study these texts, seeing in them hope for justice and protection from discrimination in our own land.”

Mr. Panteleyev, who presented the Church with a recognition commemorating its grand opening, continued, saying: “Scientologists work to see that all have the right to thought, to practice religion and to rejoice. You work to see that all people have the right to assemble, the right to establish and support their own churches and organizations; that they have the freedom to think for themselves and to the expression of their thoughts and ideas. These freedoms are the very manifestation of the individual spirit. So it is important that we rejoice today, for this is a glorious day in the name of freedom for all of Russia.”

Scientology’s Drug Free World initiative is but one of the Church programs now adopted by citizens of the Russian Federation. Among its foremost advocates is Dr. Victor Ivanovich Cherepkov, two-term State Duma Deputy, who said: “The drug industry has taken its toll on Russians for years. Until recently we had no solution that could prevent the problem. Your drug education is well recognized in Russia. We are already using your literature and your methods in the fight against drugs. In fact, these are widely disseminated throughout Russia. And it’s spreading for one reason only: it simply is working everywhere and anywhere.”

Dr. Cherepkov went on to say, “In the effectiveness of your anti-drug campaign, I see the wisdom of L. Ron Hubbard—the great teacher and philosopher. For he unlocked the human mind and human problems with knowledge, to free us from the wickedness of existence in the name of creation, perfection and kindness.”

With the new Church of Scientology of Moscow, so begins the next historic chapter for Scientology. It is a chapter that not only signifies a renaissance for the religion itself, but a new era for religious and human rights in Russia.

Russia Faces 3-Year Race to Secure Site of Olympics

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY

Published: March 7, 2011

The host nations for the Olympic Games inevitably worry about terrorism. But a glimpse at a map shows why the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held in this Russian resort on the Black Sea, seem to be facing security concerns unlike any Games in recent memory.

Sochi lies at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, the same region that since the Soviet collapse two decades ago has yielded so much turmoil in Russia. In fact, skiing events will be held on those mountains, albeit to the west of the majority-Muslim provinces that have spawned extremist groups.

It is not only internal strife. The city of Sochi directly abuts Abkhazia, one of two breakaway regions of Georgia that set off a brief war between Russia and Georgia in 2008. (The Olympic Park itself is only about five miles from the border.)

Abkhazia has declared its independence, with staunch support from Russia and its military, and senior Georgian officials have responded by calling for a boycott of the Olympics.

International Olympic Committee officials have expressed confidence in Russia’s ability to ensure that the Games are safe, even as fears have risen sharply in recent weeks with a spate of attacks.

The Russian government has repeatedly stressed that it is devoting enormous amounts of money and resources to Olympic security. Senior Russian officials say they have many years of experience in killing, detaining, or, at a minimum, bottling up Muslim militants in the Caucasus.

In an interview, a deputy prime minister, Dmitri N. Kozak, acknowledged that such groups would be likely to try to step up their activities as the Olympics drew closer. But he played down the significance of Sochi’s location, saying that the terrain was so difficult to traverse that it was easier to travel by plane from Moscow — about 850 miles — than over land from Chechnya.

“Concerning geography, I would say that it is an illusion that there is more access to Sochi for terrorists,” Mr. Kozak said. “Sochi is isolated from the rest of the Caucasus — Chechnya and other such regions — by mountains that are not easily passable.”

He said the Sochi Olympics would be a target for extremist groups around the world, not just those from the Caucasus. “Today, distance for terrorist organizations does not have much meaning,” he said.

Yet, the Jan. 24 suicide bomb attack at the international arrivals terminal in Moscow’s showcase Domodedovo Airport seems to be weighing heavily on Olympic preparations, having raised fears that Muslim extremists from the Caucasus are turning their attention to foreigners in order to damage Russia’s image around the world.

Soon after, the governor of the region around Sochi, Aleksandr N. Tkachev, called a public meeting to upbraid local officials for not doing enough to safeguard Olympic sites during construction, especially in light of the airport attack. He said reports from intelligence officials and investigators painted “an extremely disturbing picture.”

“If we do not build a solid wall of security, not only for the athletes and guests at the Olympics, but also for Sochi residents, then we risk losing everything,” Mr. Tkachev said. “But for now, unfortunately, there is an enormous distance between what must be and the current reality.”

The mood darkened even more on Feb. 18, when three tourists from Moscow who were on a ski trip to Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, were gunned down by people suspected of being Muslim extremists who pulled over their vehicle.

“A serious danger now exists for Sochi,” said Vadim M. Mukhanov, an analyst at the Center for Caucasus Studies in Moscow. “If before, the goal of the radical Islamic underground was to attack the police and security services, recently their slant has changed, and they have started going after tourists. And that is a very disturbing trend.”

The rising tensions in the Caucasus are also threatening to spill into the international arena. A senior Russian lawmaker, Aleksandr P. Torshin, last week accused Georgia of organizing the Domodedovo bombing, though he did not provide any proof. The actual bomber was a 20-year-old from a village in Ingushetia, a region next to Chechnya.

Mr. Torshin maintained that Georgia, under President Mikheil Saakashvili, wanted to foment instability in Russia. Other officials have gone further and insisted that Mr. Saakashvili hopes to turn the Olympics into a public relations disaster for Russia.

Georgian officials have called such charges ludicrous.

In Sochi late last month, the Russian government sought to demonstrate that it was heeding warnings about possible increased terrorist activity. At the Olympic Park, security officials used metal detectors to screen all workers and visitors. Trucks and other heavy equipment were searched and tagged with global positioning devices when they entered the site so they could be monitored.

At the skiing areas in nearby Krasnaya Polyana, the FIS European Cup was conducting test skiing events. Police officers were stationed throughout the slopes, with some even guarding pylons that held aloft the cables for ski lifts. Competitors and spectators were required to wear badges and had to go through checkpoints. The races occurred without incident.

Throughout Sochi, the municipal government has installed thousands of video cameras so that it can respond more quickly to security problems. One of the city officials who oversee the system, Iles P. Dzaurov, just returned from London, host of the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he observed the security precautions there.

Standing before a bank of giant video screens with feeds from across the city, Mr. Dzaurov said he understood why people were nervous. But he contended that the city would be ready.

“There are no grounds for concern,” he said. “We are on guard for anything that occurs, and we have a lot of experience doing this.”