REGIONS REIMPOSE LIMITS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

Officialsin Russia’s Kostroma region have sharply restricted the freedomof religious expression, Kostromskiy kray reported June8. According to a recent decision, all religious groups must registerwith the state, the police must watch all foreign missionaries,religious groups cannot conduct "agitation" in publicplaces and are subject to strict limits on how much religious"propaganda" they can disseminate, and owners of buildingsare prohibited from renting their rooms to religious groups thatdo not have state registration certificates. In related developments,local people beat up more than 20 Hare Krishna followers in Rostov,Segodnya reported June 30; and the authorities in Tatarstanbegan a court case against followers of the Aum Synrike sect–involvedwith the Tokyo bombing–according to Russian radio on July 2.

Tishkov Calls for Tolerance Training.