STAVROPOL, June 21 (RIA Novosti"s Valery...

STAVROPOL, June 21 (RIA Novosti"s Valery Oliyanchuk) - The ataman council of the Georgiyevsk department of the Tersky Cossack Troops in the Stavropol territory (Russia"s south) has sent an open letter to the local and territorial authorities condemning the activities of Jehovah"s Witnesses. First of all, the Cossacks and Orthodox clergymen are concerned about the political activities of the sect. In particular, the sect prohibits its members to serve in the army, join other organizations, vote in elections, respect the national flag and anthem, and celebrate birthdays and Christian holidays. The main purpose of Jehovah"s Witnesses is to collect money and enlist new members. "On March 26, 2004 Moscow"s Golovinsky Court satisfied the petition of the prosecutor"s office of Moscow"s northern district and decided to liquidate the community of Jehovah"s Witnesses in accordance with Article 14 of the law on freedom of conscience as its activities are aimed at religious discord, breaking families, etc." the open letter reads. It contains the request of Cossacks and Orthodox clergymen to thoroughly analyze the activities of Jehovah"s Witnesses in the Stavropol territory, first of all, the Georgiyevsk district, and to take relevant measures. The suit against Jehovah"s Witnesses was initiated in September 1998. Having checked the community, the prosecutor"s office of Moscow"s northern district came to the conclusion that its activities are aimed at religious discord, breaking families, etc. Moreover, Jehovah"s witnesses persuaded gravely ill people to give up medical aid for religious reasons. The prosecutor"s office accused Jehovah"s Witnesses of extremist activities.

MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian...

MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the government will continue measures to overcome corruption, and pledged to improve existing legislation.

LVOV, July 1 (RIA Novosti) - A statue of...

LVOV, July 1 (RIA Novosti) - A statue of Ukraine"s wartime nationalist leader Stepan Bandera will be erected in Lutsk in western Ukraine, the city council said Tuesday. The city"s mayor, Bohdan Shyba, has instructed the local land department to allocate a plot for the monument by July 10. Bandera was one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) which fought with the Soviet Army during the World War II. Following the invasion of German troops in the summer of 1941, Bandera called on Ukrainians "to help the German army in the fight against Moscow and Bolshevism." Russia and Ukraine have been involved in a series of disputes concerning their common history. Ukraine has decided to celebrate next year the 350th anniversary of the 1659 Battle of Konotop, in which the Ukrainian army of Ivan Vyhovsky and his Polish allies defeated Russian forces. Russia"s Foreign Ministry said certain political forces in Ukraine were trying to "find in the ... Russian-Ukrainian common history events and characters memorable only for the fact that they were acting against Moscow, Russia and Russians." The historical sparring has developed into an unofficial war of monuments. In October 2007, the western Ukrainian city of Lvov inaugurated a statue of Stepan Bandera and adopted a resolution establishing the "Award of Stepan Bandera," while a sculpture of Catherine the Great was erected in the Crimean port of Sevastopol as part of its 225th anniversary celebrations this June.