In September 1997, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed into law a bill that severely restricts foreign missionary societies and denominations not previously active in the Soviet Union. This law, if enforced to the letter, would shut down most, if not all, of the churches opened after 1991. It basically declares the Russian Orthodox Church as the pre-eminent religion and all other religions or denominations secondary to it. TOP An extremely large part of the population was nurtured on the teachings of atheism for more than 70 years. Unsettled economic and political conditions make life difficult for Russian citizens and missionaries alike.
Materialism grows as the country moves to a market economy.
Crime and violence are increasingly coupled with diminishing levels of personal and public security. A militant communist old guard seeks to limit expressions of Christianity to those approved during the years of communist rule. Christian literature, including Lutheran resource materials, in the Russian language is lacking and needs to be made available. Lutheranism is tied almost entirely to German and Finnish ethnic groups in Russia. Russian Lutheran churches need help to train pastors and to provide theological education for congregation lay leaders.