Religion and Violence in Russia

Edited video and audio will be available on this page shortly.

Please join the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program for a day-long conference presenting the preliminary findings of our project on Religion and Violence in Russia. This effort, which began more than a year ago, and supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, has brought together a multinational group of experts on Russia and religious issues to explore the intersection of religion and violence in Russia and conduct in-depth research on understudied aspects of this nexus.
 
Through this project, CSIS has sought to fill the gaps in the existing research, with researchers addressing a diverse set of topics ranging from islamophobia to violence against non-traditional Christian groups, from the use of religious imagery to incite violence to the role of religion in the Ukraine conflict. Our research covers the evolving situation in Russia as a whole, and drills down into developments in the North Caucasus, Tatarstan, Tyumen, and Astrakhan.
 
We hope you can join our discussion of what we have learned, and what it might mean for policymakers, advocates, and the international community. The full agenda is available below.
 
Please note: Refreshments, including lunch, will be provided. 

Agenda 

10:30 – 10:45am – Introductory Remarks

• Olga Oliker

10:45 – 12:15pm – Panel 1: The Broader Environment

• Islamophobia in Russia
  • Marlene Laruelle
  • Natalia Yudina
• Violence Towards “Non-Traditional” Faiths in Russia (Smash That Sect!)
  • Geraldine Fagan
  • Olga Sibireva
• Russian Legislation Regarding Religion and its Implications for Violence
  • Alexander Verkhovskiy

Moderated by: Jeffrey Mankoff

12:15 – 12:30 pm – Lunch available
 
12:30 – 2:00 pm – Panel 2: Propaganda and the Incitement of Violence

• Radical Propaganda Targeting Russian-Speaking Islamists
  • Jean-François Ratelle
  • Katya Sokirianskaia
• Violence and the Defense of "Traditional Values" in the Russian Federation: Orthodoxy and Islam Compared
  • Irina Du Quenoy (remote appearance)
  • Akhmet Yarlykapov
• Church Politics in the Ukraine Conflict
  • Jeffrey Mankoff

Moderated by: Olga Oliker

2:00 – 2:15pm – Coffee Break
 
2:15 – 3:15pm – Panel 3 – Regions

• The North Caucasus and Other Border Regions
  • Sufian Zhemukhov
• Other Russian Regions
  • Olga Oliker
  • Denis Sokolov

Moderated by: Alexander Verkhovskiy

3:15 – 4:30pm – Distilling Policy Recommendations and Closing Remarks

• Olga Oliker
• Jean-François Ratelle

This event is made possible by the generous support to the CSIS Russia and Eurasia program from the Henry Luce Foundation.