New Russian Law Regularizes Return of Church Properties

Russian Parliament, nearly twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, finally passed legislation today allowing religious organizations to reclaim property confiscated following the Bolshevik Revolution. Russia's Communist Party and national museum directors have been most vocal in their opposition to the bill as many present day museums occupy nationalized Russian Orthodox cathedrals, churches, and monasteries, among them the Memorial Church of the Savior 'on the Blood' built on the site of Emperor Alexander II's murder in St. Petersburg (pictured on the right). Prior to this individual properties have been returned to church use haphazardly and have not always been transferred to full church administration. More on the legislation here.