Belarus as an ideal of “fighting sectarians”

On August 7, 2008, an article by Yulia Vokhmyanina "Stop, figure it out: How are sectarians treated in Russia and Belarus" was published in the supplement to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" "Union: Belarus-Russia", the main pathos of which boils down to the need to tighten the religious legislation of Russia, with taking into account the experience of Belarus, which outlawed even meetings of believers in private apartments.

The main thing that angers the author is that "religious groups can gather in Russia without state registration. This means that they can act freely until they cause real harm to society or their members. " Meanwhile, Yu. Vokhmyanina believes that "the harm of sectarianism is obvious today" (what this harm consists of, however, is not specified) and "the lesson of Penza should teach us to make the right choice in our addictions . "

She directly says that the real data, in addition to the fact that according to statistics in 2007 in Russia under Art. 239 ("Organization of an association encroaching on the personality and rights of citizens") 6 people were convicted, no. But in order to convince the reader of the legitimacy of the demand for a preventive ban on those organizations that seem to someone to be "sectarians", Yulia Vokhmyanina actually broadcasts everyday xenophobic stereotypes, appealing to the reader's fears: "How many people died following the sectarian bans on blood transfusions, observing severe food restrictions , as well as being attacked by the aggressive sectarians themselves - such data were not taken into account. The number of potential terrorists who are also preparing in the bosom of the so-called religious sects cannot be counted .

Vokhmyanina Julia. Stay. sort it out // Union. Belarus-Russia (supplement to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta"). 2008. 7 August.