Russian authorities target pastors, archbishop over ‘foreign ties’
By Jack Bethel - Posted at Christian Daily International: Published November 11, 2026 Russian authorities continue to target Christians with legal action based on links to foreign organizations, according to rights group Forum 18. Recent reports document court fines against two pastors in the city of Vladimir, an archbishop in St. Petersburg and a freedom of religion researcher outside Moscow. Smolny District Court fined Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko on Sept. 22. The archbishop, who opposes his country’s war on Ukraine, reposted a YouTube video interview on Telegram that he gave on Nov. 5, 2022, to news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe. In the interview, titled “Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko on anti-humanity, faith, and helping refugees,” he discussed assistance provided to Ukrainians who fled into Russia. Novaya Gazeta Europe operates as an offshoot of the independent rights newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which Russian authorities closed this week. Continue here...
