The Yaroslavl Anti-Sectarian Center opposed the Festival of India in Yaroslavl

Russkaya Liniya published a statement from the Yaroslavl anti-sectarian center regarding the Indian Festival scheduled for August 27 in Yaroslavl (copies of the statement were also sent to the city mayor's office, the regional administration and prosecutor's office, the regional police department and the Federal Reserve Department). According to the authors of this document, the organizers of the festival - and the Yaroslavl Society for Krishna Consciousness acts as the organizer of the holiday - are trying to mislead the residents of the city about the official status of the event and seek "under the pretext of familiarizing residents with Indian culture, to get an opportunity for mass recruitment of new followers into the ranks of the sect ".

The Yaroslavl anti-sectarian center also accuses the organizers of the festival of a number of formal violations: "... the notice of the upcoming action was agreed with significant violations of the current legislation. According to the federal law "On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and picketing", such a notice must be filed in territorial body of local self-government not earlier than 15 days before the scheduled date.However, the Hare Krishnas' application was registered with the administration of the Kirovsky district already on July 30 - that is, 27 days before the event.Already on this formal basis, in accordance with Article 5 of the said law, the action subject to cancellation.

In addition, according to paragraph 3 of Article 4, Art. 5 and paragraph 6 of article 7 of the federal law "On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and picketing", as well as paragraphs. 2.6 and 3 of the "Temporary regulation on the procedure for organizing and holding cultural, entertainment, sports, advertising and other mass events in the city of Yaroslavl", approved by resolution .1480 of the Mayor of Yaroslavl of May 23, 2001, it is the organizer of the event that must take responsibility for holding it and compliance with all conditions. However, in the application, where the official organizer is the "Society for Krishna Consciousness" of Yaroslavl, this function is entrusted to the chairman of the regional charitable foundation "Food for Life" - that is, the head of a completely different legal entity. Apparently, such confusion is deliberately organized in order to formally give the religious action a nominally "secular" character in the eyes of the authorities.

"We urge members of the media to refrain from attending the so-called 'Festival of India' or to cover it critically," the statement said.

Sources

• "Festival of India" in Yaroslavl - a festival of Krishna? Statement to the media // Russian line. 2007. August 27.