The publication "In the beginning there was a word. Abusive" in "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" is dedicated to the trial that began in Novgorod in the case of anti-Semitic publications in the newspaper "Russkoye Veche". The defendant is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and the leader of the local branch of the NDPR, Vadim Ivanov.

On July 16 , commenting on the intention of the French authorities to put religious (Islamic) education under state control, Kharis Hazrat Saubyanov, head of the apparatus of the Council of Muftis of Russia, spoke out categorically against such ideas.

In the Vladimir region, the proceedings on the case of the illegal seizure of the church of St. Stefan in the village of Kideksha, which belongs to the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC), by former ROAC priest Andrei Osetrov. On December 18, 2002, a court decision was made to confiscate the temple from Osetrov, but the latter appealed this decision to the regional court.

The SEM40.ru website reported on July 18 that the Yaroslavl city administration and a local State Duma deputy allocated to renovate a synagogue that was vandalized in June. more than $3,000 Sources The synagogue in Yaroslavl will be restored at the expense of the city administration // Sem40.ru. 2003. 18 July.

On July 17, at a meeting of the administration of the Vologda Oblast, dedicated to the confessional situation in the region, Mikhail Monzyuk, head of the public order department of the regional Internal Affairs Directorate, said that "the religious freedom of citizens must be limited," but this requires a legal framework, which is not yet available in the Vologda Oblast.

On July 15, a regular meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROAC) took place in Suzdal. In particular, the meeting discussed the relationship between the ROAC and Russian state authorities.