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U.S. Department of State mild attitude towards Russia expressed in its annual report should put authorities on alert, Orthodox human rights activists believes

Moscow, November 18, Interfax - The findings of the U.S. Department of State on religious freedom in Russia should put the authorities on alert, the Director of the Human Rights Center at the World Russian People's Council Roman Silantyev believes.

"The current annual report by the U.S. Department of State provides an alarmingly mild attitude towards Russia. The first question to ask is whether the Department of State is interested in Russia's growth. The answer is obvious - not in the least," Roman Silantyev told Interfax-Religion on Thursday.

Silantyev is also the head of the Center for Geography of Religions at the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations.

Therefore, he continued, any positive estimate of the Russian state of affairs by this organization "should put the authorities on alert, rather than make them happy."

"Theoretically, the Department of State should express nothing but criticism of the processes in Russia. The better the situation in Russia is, the fewer positive reports will be given by the American authorities," he said.

Commenting the Department of State's allegation that the followers of Said Nursi, Jehova's Witnesses and Scientologists faced challenges in registering their organizations, Silantyev said that "Department's allies can be hardly called Russia's allies."

The U.S. Department of State annual report of religious freedom stated that Russian authorities "generally support the right to follow religious faith," but also took efforts against some religious minorities by restricting their right for freedom of religion.

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