Russia
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Official name: Российская Федерация,Rossiyskaya Federatsiya,Russian Federation |
DEMOGRAPHY
ECONOMY |
LIFE & LIBERTY |
Contents |
[edit] Geography
[edit] Location
[edit] Climate
[edit] Natural Resources
- A new political order is in place and the economy has recovered and grown since the collapse of 1998, fuelled by income from Russia's vast natural resources, not least in oil and gas. Pray that Christian values of loving, sacrificial service and moral integrity might characterise both society and the Christian Church.
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Peoples
- There are up to 68 ethnic minorities (Unreached People Groups) without a church or at a pioneer stage. There are even more peoples with only very few Evangelicals. The North Caucasus peoples (especially in the republics of Dagestan and Chechnya) are some of the least-reached on earth.
- Kalmyk-Oirat: No one has been able to get the Gospel into the only local Buddhist people in Russian Caucasus and Dagestan, as the spiritual opposition is very intense. We need to see breakthroughs in the heavenlies and a highway prepared for our God (Isaiah 57:14). A prayer group in India was interceding for them and was asking the prayer warriors in other places, to pray for a mighty presence of the Holy Spirit in every meeting and prayer time; for genuine openness for the teaching and lasting openness to the Gospel into the unreached peoples; for religious deception and bondage to be pushed back; and for protection over their families, health, energy and protection in travel.
- Russia has 76 Unreached People Groups with a population of 13 million people. How do you get Russians and formerly nomadic shamanistic peoples from Siberia to come to the same table as friends? By giving them a common purpose! The SPAP consultation will meet for its fifth annual meeting in September 2008. The SPAP consultation gives these workers the chance to discuss important topics in their ministries. There will be believers from a wide variety of Russian Christian denominations (a miracle in itself), and born again representatives from 7 different Shamanistic people groups. Though most of the people groups represented are still unreached, there is a remnant that has put their faith in Christ.
- Everyone longs to see the Kingdom of God extended to Russia's 40 shamanistic peoples, most with no work or workers among them. Pray for the upcoming Shamanist Peoples Consultation June 2-5, 2009, to gather folks focused on these groups.
- Clustered between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the mountainous North Caucasus region of southern Russia are around 40 distinct minority ethnic groups each with a distinct language and cultural identity. They are Sunni Muslims with Sufi practices.
- 1. Pray for the Scripture translation projects that are underway and those that have yet to be started. As yet no North Caucasus language has its own Bible.
- 2. Pray that global intercessory networks would be developed for each of the ethnic groups in the region.
- 3. Pray for those from outside who are trying to live and minister in the region. Permission to live in the region is difficult to obtain and tends not to last very long.
- 4. Pray for stability and freedom from conflict caused by crime, interethnic tensions and Islamic extremism.
- 5. Pray for the small local Church to work in love and unity together to reach this region and for the partnership that seeks to serve them in this effort.
- Siberia is dotted with dozens of different ethnic and linguistic groups; some very small and others numbering in the millions. The evangelical Christian witness is very small.
- There is a need for open doors to these people and workers, who can move in.
- The two Finno-Ugric languages, Veps and Livvi Karelian have NTs in their languages, now translaters are working on Genesis. The peoples, who speak these langaues are partly reached.
[edit] Languages
- Beside of Russian as the national language there are about 200 other languages spoken by the numerous ethnic minorities in the country.
[edit] Republics
- Russia has 21 republics (states) which enjoy a high degree of autonomy on most issues and which correspond to some of Russia's numerous ethnic minorities.
- The North Caucasus region is the part of Russia that slopes up towards the main ridge of the Caucasus mountains, often considered the border between Europe and Asia. See for more details: North Caucasus.
- Republic Chechnya: According to the 2004 estimates, the population of Chechnya is approximately 1.1 million. Chechens at 1,031,647 make up 93.5% of the republic's population. Other groups include Russians (40,645, or 3.7%), Kumyks (8,883, or 0.8%), Ingush (2,914 or 0.3%) and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. See link: Chechnya.
- The Chechen capital Grozny has been transformed from near ruins at the end of the war nine years ago, to a vibrant, impressive city. Violent attacks and crime have been greatly reduced. But many people are still devastated from their losses in the previous decade, and underlying tensions have not been fully resolved.
- The Chechen church is very small and lacks effective leadership. Pray for many to come to the Lord in Chechnya, and for the church to be established.
- Since the civil war with Russia, most Russian Christians have left the country. Life is very difficult for the tiny number of Chechen Christians. Militant Islamic organisations exert pressure on society to adhere to the Islamic faith. New believers face pressure from their families to recant, as leaving Islam is seen as a betrayal of traditional Chechen values. There are several small groups of secret believers across the country.
- The level of persecution in the Republic Chechnya has resulted in it being identified as a specific problem. No Chechen can change faith publicly and women especially face severe difficulties if they do so. There are very few evangelical Christians; new converts face harassment by relatives or the authorities when their faith is discovered. 2007 some fled Chechyna as a result, while others tried to keep a low profile.
- There is a need for healing and reconciliation between Russians and Chechens - most Chechens assume Christians are Orthodox and therefore Russian. Many believers that are isolated and suffer pressure from relatives.
- In Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia there have been killings almost every day. There are only a few visible Christian fellowships; most people have never heard the Gospel. Pray for more labourers. Humanitarian needs include trauma counseling, environmental cleanup, agricultural development, and training in business ethics, computers, English, and much more. (August 2009)
- Russia officially ended its ten-year-old anti-terror operation in Chechnya in April 2009. Hopes are high that the current peaceful conditions in the former breakaway republic will continue.
- Grozny, the Chechen capital, the city is being rapidly restored. When the smoke cleared after the last Chechen war, in 2000, virtually all of the multi-story apartment, government, and other public buildings there had been damaged or destroyed in the fighting. Now they have been rebuilt. Spiritually, however, there is not that much good to report. There are very few believers. And some of the key ones have had a break in fellowship, and politely keep their distance from each other. People on both sides have assured that it was the people on the other side prolonging the division.
[edit] Life
- The Cities of Russia
- A proud but despairing nation ... The economy is growing, but in the same time: There is poverty, hopelessness, crime, drug abuse, family breakdown, suicide. 30% live on less than US/day; 1.2 million street children; 650,000 orphans in grim orphanages and prisons; 40% of men are alcoholics.
- Millions of Russian workers have been laid off or sacked recently amid the global economic downturn, and the government in Moscow is already facing angry protests by ordinary people. Pray that in these difficult circumstances many Russians will turn to the Lord and discover that God can bring good out of calamity.
- Russia is a more discouraging place to live than before. Life expectancy is close to a least developed country. Alcohol is an enormous problem. There are 160 deaths for every 100 births, a shocking demographic decline. This is caused in part by the high abortion rate, fourth in the world. There is a huge divide between rich and poor. Openness to Christianity has declined substantially. It may be one of the most difficult mission fields in the world.
[edit] Economy
[edit] Government
[edit] Religion
[edit] Islam
[edit] Buddhism
- Buddhists total 0.7% of the population, or slightly over 1 million. Three specific groups in Russia are strongly Buddhist: the Kalmyk in the Caucasus region, the Tuvans just north of Mongolia and the Buryat east of Lake Baikal. There is a revival of Buddhism not only among these groups but throughout the whole of Russia as people look for a path to freedom from guilt and for spirituality. The appearance of Buddhism as a religion of peace and harmony appeals to Russians struggling so desperately in their daily lives. New Buddhist centres are being established outside the traditionally Buddhist areas in cities such as Moscow, St Petersburg, Obninsk, Nizhni-Novgorod, Petrozavodsk and Varonesh.
[edit] Christianity
- Communism’s collapse with little bloodshed was a direct answer to prayer. Churches of all kinds doubled to 15,000 in the 1990s. Roman Catholics multiplied.
- The Orthodox Church is using every possible means to regain its exclusive spiritual dominance. Evangelical congregations increased but the expected harvest was not brought in.
- The Russian Orthodox Church has elected a new leader to succeed Patriarch Alexiy II, who died last month. More than 700 clerics and lay people have assembled in Moscow have elected Patriarch Kirill as the new leader. Pray for the reformers in the ROC who are often persecuted but are more Bible-focused, open for change and tolerant. Pray that the new leadership may more open for change and tolerant with other Christian churches.
- Problems: inappropriate evangelism; serious divisions; the need for practical holiness; emigration of Christians.
- Southern Russia: There is an importance of mother-tongue translations. One thing is the need for Christianity to be multi-cultural, how the story of Christ will take root in each culture for transformation to be long-lasting. Given the history of church practices in Southern Russia, which have been Russian-oriented, this is a new idea to many. More than anything, however, what this region needs is a spiritual breakthrough. In the present climate it’s hard for any initiatives to get off the ground. Ministry is hard here and many have lost their vision and enthusiasm after seeing so little fruit from amongst the local non-Russian people groups.
[edit] History
[edit] Churches
[edit] Church and State Relations
- Evangelical Christians are regarded as foreign people by government circles, because they are not Orthodox.
[edit] Mission
- Some real open doors now for the Gospel in Dagestan, Kalmykia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and other areas in the Caucasus and a growing harvest of souls, as there are hardly any Christians. Up to now the land has been bound by extreme witchcraft, atheism, Islam, communism, war, terror, etc.
[edit] Mission organisation working in Russia
- The WEC team works among those whom Russian society has rejected: the poor, the orphans, the street people, the marginalised and to see the Church expand into new places. They also network with other mission organisations working with young people.
- Various ministry opportunities have opened up with Russian Christians recently: work with young people leaving orphanages, parenting seminars, training for Sunday school teachers, a children's club in an orphanage, summer camps. May these opportunities grow and God uses the WEC team to affect the lives of those around them.
- The WEC team meets weekly with other mission workers to intercede for Russia. Members of the group have been experiencing various forms of spiritual attack: panic attacks, various pains or illnesses and sleepless nights. Please pray for protection. Pray that we will stay encouraged in this important work and that the meetings will grow.
[edit] Broadcasting
[edit] Councils and Networks
[edit] Future Trends
[edit] For More Reading
- See Russia's links to Central Asia.
