Russia Bans Bibles and Christian Resources From Mission Eurasia
Russia designated Mission Eurasia an undesirable organization in May 2026, triggering raids on seminaries and churches across the country. Authorities have seized Bibles and Christian literature, and pastors face fines for possessing materials linked to the ministry. The crackdown is the latest step in a long campaign to bring independent religious groups under state control.
Russia's Ministry of Justice officially blacklisted Mission Eurasia on May 13, 2026, banning the U.S.-based ministry that has operated in the region since 1991. The designation makes it illegal to possess or distribute materials connected to the organization, including Bibles bearing its logo.
Authorities moved quickly after the ruling. Inspectors searched the Moscow Theological Seminary and St. Petersburg Christian University, seizing books and issuing fines to church leaders. Pastors across the country received warnings to purge their libraries of any Mission Eurasia materials to avoid prosecution.
Mission Eurasia president Sergey Rakhuba said the government's action is retaliation for the ministry's documentation of Christian persecution in Russian-occupied Ukraine. The organization has trained church leaders and distributed Christian literature throughout the former Soviet Union for more than three decades.
Russia's blacklist now includes more than 350 organizations. In July 2026, the government added Child Evangelism Fellowship to the same list. Legal experts say the government is moving from regulating religious activity to criminalizing it outright.
The crackdown follows a pattern that began with the 2016 Yarovaya law, which restricted public evangelism, and continued with 2021 amendments that imposed strict state oversight on religious education. Observers say the Kremlin is using these laws to consolidate the Russian Orthodox Church's position as the country's only sanctioned Christian body.
Church leaders in Russia are now weighing how to continue ministry under conditions that make basic religious education a legal risk. Some have begun removing books from church libraries and meeting in smaller, less visible groups to avoid drawing attention from authorities.
