The Federal Property Management Agency commented on the transfer of buildings to religious organizations in 2013

A representative of the Federal Property Management Agency spoke about the transfer of buildings to religious organizations, the applications received and the reasons for refusals to transfer.

On December 16, 2013, the head of the Rosimushchestvo department for the location of federal government bodies, Sergei Anoprienko, reported that during the year 19 objects were transferred to religious organizations. Among them are the buildings of Seraphim-Diveevsky, the ensembles of the Tikhvin Monastery in Yekaterinburg and the Trinity Monastery in Cheboksary, the KasimovKhan Mosque , the Lutheran Church of St. Anne in St. Petersburg, and the Gusinoozersky Datsan complex.

In total, 216 applications were received in 2013, of which 175 were submitted by the Federal Property Management Agency, about 30 are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and the rest are considered by the Presidential Administration.

The Federal Property Management Agency refused to satisfy 21 applications. According to S. Anoprienko, most of the refusals occurred due to incomplete documents. In addition, the reasons for refusals were claims of religious organizations for “property located next to the temple, but not related to property for religious purposes,” or for buildings belonging to “particularly valuable objects of cultural heritage, prohibited from alienation from state property.”

Of the received applications, 161 were sent by the Russian Orthodox Church, five by Muslim organizations, two each from the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, the Roman Catholic Church, Old Believers, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and one from Buddhists.

On January 29, 2014, speaking at the Christmas readings, S. Anoprienko cited other data: during 2013, 203 applications were received from religious organizations, of which 187 came from the Russian Orthodox Church. For 32 applications, the transfer has been fully completed, for another 92 a positive decision has been made, the transfer has not yet been completed, and for 53 applications preparatory work is underway. A decision was made to refuse 21 applications.

Sources

• During the year, the Federal Property Management Agency transferred 19 real estate objects to religious organizations // ITAR TASS. 2013. December 16.
• Religious activities may be allowed in specially protected natural areas in the Russian Federation // NEWSru.com. 2014. January 29.