In Russia, a military court sentenced former priest from the Moscow Region Vasiliy Ptashinskiy to 3 years and 9 months in a general-regime penal colony. He was found guilty of “justifying terrorism and making calls against state security.”
This was reported by Christians Against the War.
According to the prosecution, in April 2023, Ptashinskiy published a post on social media calling for an “attempt on the life” of Vladimir Putin. In addition, his page contained posts addressed to Russian military personnel urging them to surrender into Ukrainian captivity and switch “to the side of the enemy.”
Ptashinskiy told the court that he had begun to “have a negative attitude” toward the war in Ukraine and the Russian authorities because of the deaths of close relatives, but that he had now “changed his attitude toward the events.”
A day later, police detained 58-year-old philosopher Igor Zaytsev in St. Petersburg. According to police, he is accused of “financing extremist activities” because of transfers to the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Zaytsev holds a Candidate of Philosophical Sciences degree, specializes in theology and religion, and is deputy dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies at the F. M. Dostoevsky Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities.
Earlier, we reported that since February 2022, pressure has been brought to bear on religious communities in Russia. Priests have been defrocked for praying for peace, ecclesiastical and secular courts have complemented each other, and state and church structures have jointly punished those who refuse to justify the war.
As previously reported, in June 2026, a court ordered the deportation from Russia of a pastor from the United States for discussing religion and suggesting that people pray for Trump. Following the meeting, someone reported the pastor to the police.
Former head of the Russian Baptists Yuriy Sipko was added to the list of terrorists and extremists, as updated by Rosfinmonitoring. The decision was published on the agency’s website.
Earlier, we reported that priests of the Russian Orthodox Church who refuse to recite prayers for the victory of Russian troops are being tried for violating Apostolic Canon 25. This church rule concerns fornicators, thieves, and perjurers. This was reported by Konstantin Kokora, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, theologian, and educator from Moscow who was forced to leave the country because of his views.
As LF reported, Archbishop Pavel Pezzi, who had served as chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia for 15 years, resigned. Catholic circles in Russia have indicated that the authorities insisted on a change in the head of the Russian Catholics.
As LF reported, Russia’s Ministry of Justice ordered all religious organizations receiving foreign funding to publish reports. Violations of the rules governing the submission of information will result in penalties. Their heads will be subject to administrative liability as provided by law. The Ministry of Justice will strictly monitor compliance with the new regulations.
As LF reported, the EU is preparing a resolution on repression in Russia. The draft European Parliament resolution on transnational repression passed a committee vote and will be brought before the plenary in June. The document describes how authoritarian states, referring to Russia in this case, and affiliated structures pursue, intimidate, and monitor dissidents, opposition figures, journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and diaspora communities outside their countries.
Earlier, we reported that the chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, along with several other lawmakers, introduced the bill “Countering Russia’s War Against Faith.”
