My name is Denis. I am a secular humanist from Russia. I am glad to meet so many people with similar points of view. I work as a webmaster and I maintain the website of the Russian Humanist Society: http://www.humanism.ru (the website is in Russian).
It’s non easy to be a humanist in today’s Russia, and in many other countries, as I know.
So good luck and courage to all humanists and atheists in all countries of the world!
There are no many humanists in Russia. We are a small group. Russia goes through a time of reaction. The religious fanaticism grows quickly. Religious fanatics attack everybody : humanists, atheists, gays, Pussy Riot. The authorities try to limit the freedom of speech. It seems that this situation is for a long time. We feel pressure. But we are sure that humanism is the main stream of the world and we are not going to shut up, as fanatics want.
It’s stange, but we have no problems with muslims. Most of problems come from the Russian Orthodox Church. This Church is considerated as “official” church of the State. It feels “the smell of power”. It is supported by the state authorities. It doesn’t matter that I am in Ufa, it is the situation all over the country. I support the website of the Russian Humanist Society and I am in contact with it’s sections in Moscow and Saint-Petersbourg. I speak about the situation all over the country.
Administrator, you are right, we think that the situation is troubling, espesially after the Pussy Riot case.
I wrote you an answer, but then I thaught a bit and decided not to publish it. I don’t feel free to speak about it openly. I can send you my answer in PM, if you promise not to publish it.
I see that things in Russia must be much worse than what I realize. If you feel it’s not safe to talk about it, I understand. If you decide to send me a PM, I can assure you I’ll keep it to myself. But then, you don’t really know me and it may not be wise to trust a stranger you just met on the internet.
I am curious to know what’s happening in Russia, but if speaking about it can result in jeopardizing your safety, I won’t obviously insist on you providing further comments.
