HUMAN RIGHTS INFORMATION AGENCY "EXPRESS-CHRONICLE"

ENGLISH WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST

15 June 1997

ORYOL (E-C correspondent E.Mendelevich) 'The Unification Church' (adherents of Moon) was officially registered and 'is conducting its activity in a lawful manner,' declared Valery Borshchyov, chairman of the State Duma Committee for the Affairs of Public and Religious Organisations, in a letter to Ivan Polukhin, chairman of the corresponding committee of the Oryol Regional Duma. According to Borshchyov, he sent the letter in connection with 'the attempts of the Oryol regional administration to limit the activity of the "Unification Church."' Besides the letter, Polukhin also received a copy of the guide to 'Religious Associations of the Russian Federation,' which was prepared by the apparatus of the Federation Council.