The evolution of bodies of regulation of state-confessional relations in the conditions of post-soviet transformation of Russia (1990–1997)

Abstract

The article researches the process of authorities’ transformation responsible for regulating state-confessional relations in the 1990–1997 period, associated with the adoption and practical application of the RSFSR “On freedom of religion” law in the context of the Russian model of religious policy formation. The rejection of the Soviet religious policy model intensified the search for a new vision that meets the society needs in the face of political changes. Manifested by 1993 the lack of a systematic approach to solving religious problems has predetermined the emergence of new interaction forms between authorities and confessional structures. The article uses the materials of the State archive of the Russian Federation and the Central state archive of Moscow to study the role of state institutions responsible for interaction with religious organizations, changes in these organizations functioning and the nature of state-confessional relations in general. The author comes to the conclusion that the processes of formation of new interaction forms between the state and confessional structures have contributed to the renewal of the state institutions system, to the creation of their new functioning principles, which operate in modern Russia, and to emphasized the need to improve legal regulation in the field of freedom of conscience.