Volgograd "United Russia" calls for paying state salaries to priests and introducing preferential tariffs for utilities for religious organizations

On October 20, 2010 it became known that the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Volgograd Region from United Russia Roland Kherianov addressed the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putinus with a proposal to equate clergy with civil servants with regular payment of official salaries.

Religious organizations, being a kind of non-profit organizations do not pursue as the main goal of their profit-making activities. Despite this, electricity tariffs heat supply, gas supply for such organizations are established on a par with enterprises engaged in production, trade and other types of entrepreneurial activity," the deputy said.

He also recalled the personal financial difficulties of Orthodox priests, many of which are large families.

R. Kherionov refers to the experience of some European countries, where the salary of the clergy the state pays and proposes to introduce the same system in Russia, but only for "traditional" religious organizations. In addition, he advocates establishment of preferential tariffs for utilities for religious organizations (it is not specified whether only “traditional” or all). Sources

• Serenko A. Officials in a cassock // Independent newspaper. 2010. October 20.