Interfax - 08.30.2002

Interfax

Russian President Rejects State Interference In Religious Matters

KAZAN - The state may not interfere in religious affairs, Russian President Vladimir Putin told representatives of the World Tartar Congress on Friday. 

"We must not tell religious figures what to do, who to choose and how to
form associations. We must create favorable conditions for their activities
and do our best to prevent the building of barriers between them and
citizens," he said. 

It is religious faiths that instill human values in people's minds now,
Putin said. "I've become increasingly convinced that now that we have no
work collectives or party organizations, such as those of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union, or educators at places of work, nothing but
religion can make human values known to people," he said.