bruceq

Interesting question. Of course legally it does not effect any who don't live in Russia. 

Russian parliament notices American concern for Jehovah's Witnesses
U.S.A. THREATENS RUSSIA WITH NEW SANCTIONS BECAUSE OF BAN OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Parlamentskaia Gazeta, 29 April 2017
 
The federal commission on religious liberty of the U.S.A. came to a conclusion about the necessity of including Russia among countries "evoking special concern" because of violation of citizens' rights to freedom on conscience, TASS reports.
 
In the annual report presented by the commission, it is noted that Russia for the first time has been included in the list of countries in which international nongovernmental organizations have identified cases of incidents of violations of religious liberty "bearing a systematic and continual character."
 
The accusations of American public leaders arose also because of the fact that Moscow, in their opinion, has tried to determine the policy of freedom of conscience in the territory of a neighboring state, interfering in the discussion of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the so-called Kiev patriarchate.
 
The authors of the document also express concern in connection with the ruling in Russia of the community of Jehovah's Witnesses to be an extremist organization.
 
Considering the aforementioned incidents, members of the commission consider the possibility of appealing to American authorities to recommend effecting a change in Moscow's position by using individual sanctions of a humanitarian nature.
 
The U.S.A. Commission for Religious Liberty represents itself as a bi-partisan consultative agency within the federal American government, which is authorized to make political recommendations to the head of state, the secretary of state, and members of Congress. (tr. by PDS, posted 30 April 2017)
http://www2.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/170429b.html

The Economist magazine, covering the ban, has coined a new term. I will use it.
 
"The ruling is a testament to the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox church, especially of a radical wing who see the Jehovah’s Witnesses as a dangerous sect that deviates from the official version of Christianity."
 
The 'official version.'
 
I haven't said 'Christendom' in years. Instead, I've said 'traditional.' No more. Now the churches represent 'the official version.' 
 
Just who are the officials? In Russia, they are the Russian Orthodox Church. In America, they are the Evangelicals. Post something about the faith in their hearing and you will be flooded with outcries of "cult" due to rejection of their favorite doctrines. Yet, unless I am very much mistaken, the two official versions would not get along. In fact, I suspect they would hate each others' guts, though for the purpose of maligning Jehovah's Witnesses they might form a temporary 'best buddy' relationship.

WASHINGTON DC – President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and their wives attended Thursday evening meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Washington D.C.
The surprise appearance of the first families of the US drove many others to the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Though their visit was unannounced, ushers, preferably called ‘attendants’ by the religious organization received the Trump, Pence and wives and offered them front row seats.
Trump was seen shaking hands with almost the entire congregation after the service and also picked copies of the groups publications ‘Watchtower’ and ‘Awake!’.
White House spokesperson told the media present that “the surprise visit to the meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses is to console all its members across the globe over Russia’s ban on its activities”.
The presence of the dignitaries were acknowledged during the announcements segment of the service but Trump did not give a speech at the service.
Trump connection to the Jehovah’s Witnesses came to public after his in-law Jared Kushner purchased the religious group’s buildings in Brooklyn.
Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on April 20, 2017 that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization should be closed down and no longer allowed to operate legally in Russia, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling, which affects more than 100,000 Jehovah’s Witness worshippers across Russia, is a serious breach of Russia’s obligations to respect and protect religious freedom.
https://www.bamstrend.com/52904.html

Easy remedy  , once you find out it is fake news since you are the moderator then it is your responsibility to remove the post instead of being critical of everyone else for reading it since you left it up. 
I would have removed it if I knew how so I changed the heading so it would expose fake news. Was I so wrong to do so? 

I don't think anyone can say who it came from originally. The seed of these ideas often comes from persons looking at a respected news source. They then think about what might attract attention. I listened to an actual interview on NPR with the person who created the news story that the Pope endorsed Trump. He at first denied that it was him, but then realized that he had truly been caught, and decided that it would be better to explain what he and his "company" does. It was simply for the purpose of making money. The more interesting the hook, the more people will share it, and more eyeballs mean more money. It turns out he has created hundreds of such stories. Not all of them pan out, and sometimes he uses test stories, and tries some out on platforms where no money is to be made, just as a test of how much interest they might pull in. 
This story strikes me as one of those like the Pope and Trump. It didn't have quite the potential for pulling interest from at least half the United States, but it had a chance to pull in quite a few. They are almost always built on partially true stories, ones in which someone could easily say, "Oh yeah, I heard something about that a week or so ago. And isn't it interesting that Trump did say that he wouldn't take in Muslims, but that he would be quick to accept Christian refugees. That fits. People should know this. I have to share it."
After I retired, about 4 years ago, I was talked into joining the new product marketing team for a major ISP, and I took it because I didn't have to go into the office more than once a month (and the office was out of state). But they paid for some seminars, and one of them was about how the most successful people sell product on the Internet. A set of "survivalist" sites were compared, and a very rich marketer gave a speech about how to sell to this group. He said, the first thing you have to remember is the motivation. Survivalists for example, are easy to scare. Just say, BOO! and they start running. But "BOO!" to them is a threat about the impending "end of the system." By this he meant the threat of a New World Order, Government Overreach, diminishing of "white rights" etc. He said that the biggest way to tap into all that right now (2013/2014) is to claim that "Obama is going to take away your guns." He showed the visiting stats and the sales stats for all the different marketing methods and slogans and key words, and he showed how much more successful this particular phrase worked with survivalists. It was really amazing. And he showed how fake news on the sites and Facebook pages that these persons are known to visit would enhance it. Fake news, he said, is always built on partially, or even almost totally true news, but with just enough "fear" factor in the spin to catch the interest, or to make your products more meaningful in the world you created with fake news. There did not have to be a direct link between the fake news and the product, but there was an indirect one. (Ironically, the man says that he and most of the people on his team were Obama supporters, despite the pro-NRA anti-Obama rhetoric in their fake news and advertisements.
But there is also the use of niche audiences that a lot of fake news is intended to capture attention from. There have been persons who have worked for organizations that spoke out against cults in the past (Scientology, Moonies, etc) who realized that they could change their tune and find a new audience of millions if they spoke out in support of these same groups. Speaking out in defense of cults turned them into legal consultants and authors with a new guaranteed group of buyers. This is not so different from those consultants who spoke out in favor of cigarettes, arctic drilling, fracking, etc. There was even a man who made himself famous for a while with videos about how paper garbage didn't break down in landfills, but showed how plastic containers crushed down to take up a lot less space. It's not directly related but I heard that even the author Christine King, changed a version of her book to remove the line referring to Rutherford early support of Hitler. This was after working with the Watch Tower Society during a time of peak publicity efforts by the Organization. I can only suppose this was because she now had a new audience of potential buyers. 
So sometimes, it's a matter of "follow the money." But sometimes it could just as easily be a JW who thinks it would bring attention to Witnesses by making up a story, or turning a story about someone else into a story about Witnesses. This happened in a recent circuit overseer's talk mentioned on this forum (about a spider and a cave). It probably happened when someone put a jw.org logo on J ackie C han, etc, etc. 
 
 
 
 
 
For what it's worth, I think you did absolutely the right thing. If you hadn't brought up the story, someone else would have. And it was great that it ended up getting exposed for what it was. 

@James Thomas Rook Jr. I got some "Good News" for you! One of many Enjoy! 
Mexico
While preaching from house to house, Gabino, a pioneer brother, came to a home and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again and then a third time. After pausing, he knocked a fourth time.
The door opened, and an anguished man stood there crying. He immediately invited Gabino in but could not talk because he was so upset.
Gabino began to speak comfortingly about the good news, and the man calmed down. “Do you see that chair over there?” asked the man. “When you knocked the third time, I was standing on that chair. Do you see that rope up there? When you knocked the fourth time, I had the noose around my neck. But I took it off to answer the door. Thank you for persisting because if you had not, I would have hung myself.” He explained that he was distraught over problems with his wife. Gabino made arrangements for a Bible study. Usually, this pioneer knocks only once or twice at a door. But this time his persistence, perhaps under angelic direction, brought fine results.
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/302010016?q=not+home&p=par
THE ANGELS ARE DIRECTING OUR WORK, WE ARE LOOKING ONLY FOR SOULS THAT HAVE LOVE AND DESPERATION TO NEED AND WANT HELP! JEHOVAH IS SENDING HIS SPIRIT EVERYWHERE, NO FEAR JEHOVAH IS NEAR!
@ Джеймс Томас Рук-младший. У меня есть несколько «хороших новостей» для вас! Один из многих Наслаждайтесь!
Мексика
Во время проповеди по домам Габино, брат-первопроходца, пришел в дом и постучал в дверь. Нет ответа. Он постучал снова, а затем в третий раз. После паузы он постучал в четвертый раз.
Дверь открылась, и мучительный человек стоял там, плача. Он тут же пригласил Габино, но не мог говорить, потому что был так расстроен.
Габино успокаивающе начал говорить о хороших новостях, и мужчина успокоился. «Вы видите этот стул?» Спросил мужчина. «Когда ты стучился в третий раз, я стоял на этом стуле. Вы видите эту веревку там? Когда ты стукнул в четвертый раз, у меня была петля вокруг шеи. Но я снял его, чтобы ответить на дверь. Спасибо за то, что ты упорствуешь, потому что, если бы ты этого не сделал, я бы повесился ». Он объяснил, что он расстроен из-за проблем с женой. Габино договорился о изучении Библии. Обычно этот пионер стучит только один или два раза в дверь. Но на этот раз его настойчивость, возможно, при ангельском направлении, принесла прекрасные результаты.
Https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/302010016?q=not+home&p=par
АНГЕЛЫ НАПРАВЛЯЮТ НАШУ РАБОТУ, МЫ ИСКАЕМ ТОЛЬКО ДЛЯ ДУШ, КОТОРЫЕ ИМЕЮТ ЛЮБОВЬ И ОТЧЕСТВО НУЖНЫ И ХОТЯТ ПОМОЩЬ! ИЕГОВА ОТПРАВЛЯЕТ ЕГО ДУХ ВЕЗДЕ, НЕТ СТРАХА ДЖЕХОВА!

Why 1947?
PROMOTING TRUE WORSHIP
Jehovah’s servants know that if they are to enjoy divine favor they must engage in clean, undefiled worship. (Jas. 1:27) They need to be morally and spiritually clean. (Isa. 52:11; 1 Cor. 6:9-11) Properly, such points have been stressed by means of assembly talks, Watchtower articles, and the like, especially during relatively recent years as the world in general has sunk deeper and deeper into the morass of moral degradation.
In 1951, advocates of true worship learned something significant about the term “religion.” Some of them could well recall 1938 when, at times, they carried the thought-provoking sign “Religion Is a Snare and a Racket.” From their standpoint then, all “religion” was unchristian, from the Devil. But The Watchtower of March 15, 1951, approved of using the adjectives “true” and “false” respecting religion. Furthermore, the absorbing book What Has Religion Done for Mankind? (published in 1951 and released during the “Clean Worship” Assembly at Wembley Stadium, London, England) had this to say: “Taken according to the way it is used, ‘religion’ in its simplest definition means a system of worship, a form of worship, without regard to whether it is true or false worship. This agrees with the meaning of the Hebrew word for it, ’a·boh·dáh, which literally means ‘service’, regardless of to whom it is rendered.” Thereafter, the expressions “false religion” and “true religion” became common among Jehovah’s witnesses.
God’s people were determined to practice true religion and to remain morally and spiritually clean for Jehovah’s service. Particularly was this emphasized in The Watchtower of March 1, 1952, containing the highly significant articles “Keeping the Organization Clean,” “Propriety of Disfellowshipping” and “Sin Making Reinstatement Impossible.” This journal showed that it was proper to expel an unrepentant baptized wrongdoer from the Christian congregation. (1 Cor. 5:1-13) If the sinner later repented, it was pointed out, reinstatement was possible.—2 Cor. 2:6-11.
This was not the first time The Watchtower had mentioned expulsion of unrepentant sinners from the congregation. From 1952 onward, however, the need to maintain the spiritual cleanliness of the Christian congregation was especially stressed. The passing of years also brought increasing awareness that merciful treatment of repentant ones was essential. (Jas. 2:13) Often, therefore, overseers have brought about spiritual restoration of erring ones before matters have deteriorated to the point that expulsion from the congregation was required.—Gal. 6:1.
 
 
BTW James do you celebrate Christmas?

Why 1947?
PROMOTING TRUE WORSHIP
Jehovah’s servants know that if they are to enjoy divine favor they must engage in clean, undefiled worship. (Jas. 1:27) They need to be morally and spiritually clean. (Isa. 52:11; 1 Cor. 6:9-11) Properly, such points have been stressed by means of assembly talks, Watchtower articles, and the like, especially during relatively recent years as the world in general has sunk deeper and deeper into the morass of moral degradation.
In 1951, advocates of true worship learned something significant about the term “religion.” Some of them could well recall 1938 when, at times, they carried the thought-provoking sign “Religion Is a Snare and a Racket.” From their standpoint then, all “religion” was unchristian, from the Devil. But The Watchtower of March 15, 1951, approved of using the adjectives “true” and “false” respecting religion. Furthermore, the absorbing book What Has Religion Done for Mankind? (published in 1951 and released during the “Clean Worship” Assembly at Wembley Stadium, London, England) had this to say: “Taken according to the way it is used, ‘religion’ in its simplest definition means a system of worship, a form of worship, without regard to whether it is true or false worship. This agrees with the meaning of the Hebrew word for it, ’a·boh·dáh, which literally means ‘service’, regardless of to whom it is rendered.” Thereafter, the expressions “false religion” and “true religion” became common among Jehovah’s witnesses.
God’s people were determined to practice true religion and to remain morally and spiritually clean for Jehovah’s service. Particularly was this emphasized in The Watchtower of March 1, 1952, containing the highly significant articles “Keeping the Organization Clean,” “Propriety of Disfellowshipping” and “Sin Making Reinstatement Impossible.” This journal showed that it was proper to expel an unrepentant baptized wrongdoer from the Christian congregation. (1 Cor. 5:1-13) If the sinner later repented, it was pointed out, reinstatement was possible.—2 Cor. 2:6-11.
This was not the first time The Watchtower had mentioned expulsion of unrepentant sinners from the congregation. From 1952 onward, however, the need to maintain the spiritual cleanliness of the Christian congregation was especially stressed. The passing of years also brought increasing awareness that merciful treatment of repentant ones was essential. (Jas. 2:13) Often, therefore, overseers have brought about spiritual restoration of erring ones before matters have deteriorated to the point that expulsion from the congregation was required.—Gal. 6:1.
 
 
BTW James do you celebrate Christmas?

I would like to add that inspired Bible writers revealed new things that had not before been mentioned. The spirit-directed Gov Body only explain or apply that which has already been wiritten. 

Is the Governing body still "spirit directed"?
Of  course !  bec. its  our  only  channel  from  Jehovah  to  our  GB !  NO  one  can  purport  the  opposite

“Who Is Leading God’s People Today?”
“Evidence of holy spirit”
“Evidence of angelic assistance”
“Reliance on God’s Word.”
“Jesus had given his followers a commission: “You will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)”
ARE WE NOT EXCITED HOW MANY LANDS THE PREACHING IS DONE IN AND LANGUAGES WE NEVER KNEW EXISTED! Yes, only by Holy Spirit can this be accomplished and the teachings not of man or Pagan teachings but from the Word of God. 
“When Jesus returned to heaven, he did not abandon his followers. (Matt. 28:20) He knew firsthand how much the holy spirit, the angels, and God’s Word helped him to take the lead when he was on earth. Therefore, he has supplied the faithful slave today with the same assistance. As anointed Christians, the members of that slave “keep following the Lamb no matter where he goes.” (Rev. 14:4) As we follow their direction, therefore, we follow our Leader, Jesus. Soon, he will lead us to everlasting life. (Rev. 7:14-17) And no human leader can promise that!”
Excerpt From: WATCHTOWER. “The Watchtower, February 2017.” 
THE "TRUTH" SETS US "FREE"! Enjoy your Watchtower for tomorrow's lesson. Good points I enjoyed.
???????
“Jesus had given his followers a commission: “You will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) 
 

So what it boils down to is everyone is spirit-directed either by Jehovah or Satan. So by their fruits you can identify them. So the point would be who is the true religion. Its not rocket science. A Spirit-directed people by God would love each other in that they would not kill each other in war time {or any other time}. Whereas each of the religions mentioned above have all at one point killed when their respective country told them to do so even killing members of their own religion. That to me shows spirit direction from the first killer Satan their father. {Source : pretty much every book in the Bible}. Jn 13:35

Too true for the Russian Federation. BUT the WT Aug 2017 says:
Today, there are over 400,000 publishers in the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union! 
What Jehovah has accomplished already through Jesus in that window of freedom since 1991!

So what it boils down to is everyone is spirit-directed either by Jehovah or Satan. So by their fruits you can identify them. So the point would be who is the true religion. Its not rocket science. A Spirit-directed people by God would love each other in that they would not kill each other in war time {or any other time}. Whereas each of the religions mentioned above have all at one point killed when their respective country told them to do so even killing members of their own religion. That to me shows spirit direction from the first killer Satan their father. {Source : pretty much every book in the Bible}. Jn 13:35

So what it boils down to is everyone is spirit-directed either by Jehovah or Satan. So by their fruits you can identify them. So the point would be who is the true religion. Its not rocket science. A Spirit-directed people by God would love each other in that they would not kill each other in war time {or any other time}. Whereas each of the religions mentioned above have all at one point killed when their respective country told them to do so even killing members of their own religion. That to me shows spirit direction from the first killer Satan their father. {Source : pretty much every book in the Bible}. Jn 13:35

They are indeed: 
"according to the system of things of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" Eph.2:2

Yes that's it. It's not so much the quote, it's your question. I can't see a contradiction between being terming the Gov Body as spirit-directed, whilst they are not "inspired" (in the sense of 2Tim 3:16).
I mean if a traffic cop directs a vehicle, the driver may (or may not) follow those directions. He may not be aware of them, might misunderstand, or might even ignore them. Or he can follow them exactly. Whatever, the driver makes the choice and the outcome will confirm he made the right choice. 
I believe the Gov Body are spirit-directed in that they allow their deliberations to be guided by Jehovah's inspired word, look to Jehovah to guide their thinking where understanding needs clarification, and follow the spirit-inspired direction to preach the good news world-wide thus co working with Jehovahs angels. Their continuing good results in this indicates that they are indeed following the direction of Jehovah by means of his spirit. That seems to be the thinking behind the Feb 2017 WT quote above.
Now, if the traffic cop got into the vehicle and drove it himself, then that would be a different story. The vehicle would go the way he directs because he wiould be driving it. That illustrates being "inspired". The Gov Body are not like Bible writers who got it right even when they didn't understand what they were writing.
So for me, the wording of the baptism question remains valid.

Thanks Eoin
Interesting, so it didn't come from any apostates or any Witnesses just a news outlet that is not legit and appears several others were doing the same thing on many topics not just Witnesses. Irregardless of it being fake or not did you notice the increased publicity the Witnesses got from it anyway. Just goes to show that Jehovah can turn any news even bad news or unreal news to the advantage of a "witness to the nations" because now people who read this will look up the true story and see how phony the ruling by the Supreme Court was. PRAISE JAH 
Matt. 10:18 says :"And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations." and also
" He will not fear bad news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Jehovah.   8  His heart is unshakable;  he is not afraid;  ]In the end he will look in triumph on his adversaries. PSALM 112:7,8 AND
 No weapon formed against you will have any success, And you will condemn any tongue that rises up against you in the judgment. This is the heritage  of the servants of Jehovah,  And their righteousness is from me,” declares Jehovah.  ISA 54:17
BE OPTIMISTIC JEHOVAH IS IN CONTROL 

Thanks Eoin
Interesting, so it didn't come from any apostates or any Witnesses just a news outlet that is not legit and appears several others were doing the same thing on many topics not just Witnesses. Irregardless of it being fake or not did you notice the increased publicity the Witnesses got from it anyway. Just goes to show that Jehovah can turn any news even bad news or unreal news to the advantage of a "witness to the nations" because now people who read this will look up the true story and see how phony the ruling by the Supreme Court was. PRAISE JAH 
Matt. 10:18 says :"And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations." and also
" He will not fear bad news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Jehovah.   8  His heart is unshakable;  he is not afraid;  ]In the end he will look in triumph on his adversaries. PSALM 112:7,8 AND
 No weapon formed against you will have any success, And you will condemn any tongue that rises up against you in the judgment. This is the heritage  of the servants of Jehovah,  And their righteousness is from me,” declares Jehovah.  ISA 54:17
BE OPTIMISTIC JEHOVAH IS IN CONTROL 

Thanks Eoin
Interesting, so it didn't come from any apostates or any Witnesses just a news outlet that is not legit and appears several others were doing the same thing on many topics not just Witnesses. Irregardless of it being fake or not did you notice the increased publicity the Witnesses got from it anyway. Just goes to show that Jehovah can turn any news even bad news or unreal news to the advantage of a "witness to the nations" because now people who read this will look up the true story and see how phony the ruling by the Supreme Court was. PRAISE JAH 
Matt. 10:18 says :"And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations." and also
" He will not fear bad news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Jehovah.   8  His heart is unshakable;  he is not afraid;  ]In the end he will look in triumph on his adversaries. PSALM 112:7,8 AND
 No weapon formed against you will have any success, And you will condemn any tongue that rises up against you in the judgment. This is the heritage  of the servants of Jehovah,  And their righteousness is from me,” declares Jehovah.  ISA 54:17
BE OPTIMISTIC JEHOVAH IS IN CONTROL 

Media confirmation:
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/apr/28/blog-posting/reports-trump-offered-asylum-russian-jehovahs-witn/

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Italians evangelicals take a stand
The Commission of evangelical churches for relations with the state: "How Italian evangelicals consider religious freedom a fundamental and inalienable right"
Of  Agency NEV  - April 28, 2017 0 3702 Facebook   Twit Rome (NEV), 28 April 2017 - "How Italian evangelicals consider religious freedom a fundamental and inalienable right. Just because they are victims of persecution or discrimination, Italians Evangelicals represented in the Commission of evangelical churches for relations with the State (CCERS) protesting against the decision to ban the Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and confiscation of their property in Russia ". Thus begins the declaration adopted yesterday by CCERS at its meeting on April 27, referring to the judgment with which the Russian Supreme Court has effectively "banned" religious minority from the territory of the Russian Federation.
"We express even deep concern for the reason given by the Russian authorities - he continues CCERS statement - which, without contesting specific crimes, justified the measure as the preaching of Jehovah's Witnesses constitute a 'threat to the rights of citizens, for the 'public order and public safety'. As Italian Protestants - said the document - do not forget that in our country less than a century ago, similar accusations were directed not only against the Jehovah's Witnesses, also of Jews and Pentecostals, and based on those accusations you wrote a page shameful in the history of our country and Europe. We hope that the appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, already begun by Jehovah's Witnesses, to re-establish a principle of fundamental and inalienable freedoms for all civil and democratic state ".
At this time the president of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI), pastore Luca Maria Negro (which by statute is also president of CCERS), signed the appeal that the Italian section of the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty ( AIDLR ) launched about, and that will be delivered into the hands of the Russian ambassador in Rome,  Sergey Razov .
http://www.nev.it/nev/2017/04/28/testimoni-di-geova-in-russia-gli-evangelici-italiani-prendono-posizione/

Baptist leader sympathizes with Jehovah's Witnesses
INTERVIEW: EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN-BAPTIST PASTOR YURY SIPKO
by Vladimir Oivin
Portal-Credo.Ru, 24 April 2017
 
--Vladimir Oivin: How do you assess the decision of the Russian Supreme Court for banning the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses?
 
--Yury Sipko:  If the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, then the fate of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses was decided beforehand. At least, I did not see in the actions of our authorities on this matter some kind of reasonable legal basis. All these actions are politicized, intended for the infringement of liberties, both religious, and political, and civil.
 
This decision is obviously illegal; it contradicts the constitutional norm, but fits the general trend: the ground is cleared, the territory of freedom is reduced to the limit, and only those who fit within we framework of the chekist [secret police] worldview have the right to life.
 
Nevertheless, it is very bitter. I am extremely distressed, no matter what.
 
--What awaits the Russian Jehovah's Witnesses in the near future?
 
--As people of faith they will live even in prison conditions, as it once was. Officially, of course, the judicial decision with confiscation of property, practically equating this organization with a terrorist one—this is a disgrace; it simply does not lend itself to either commentary or explanation.
 
But people in the future also will believe; for them all these persecutions are not terrible; they have profound convictions.  And here the Russian authorities only gave themselves a good licking, discrediting the judicial and legal system. I am embarrassed for the country in which such hooligans rule.
 
--Can a mass emigration of believers now begin?
 
--Whoever understands and has such an opportunity has already emigrated long ago. But a mass exodus is a complex thing. I do not see the energy among our people that is enough for an exodus or a protest. There is only a long-dead legal consciousness, long-dead civic responsibility; there is a state of slavish obedience. And it is this state that is the cause of violence.
 
But this is only the "beginning of sorrows," and the "great tribulation" is still ahead.
(tr. by PDS, posted 28 April 2017)

1946 Quebecs Burning Hate.pdf