After World War II and the victory over Nazism, it seemed that the persecution and genocide of innocent people would finally come to an end. But that was not the case. Pathological religious intolerance did not disappear with the defeat of fascist Germany. Instead, it grew to global proportions through the activities of anticult organizations.
The main ideologue of anticultism in Europe was Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack (1935–1991). He completely rejected the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and declared in his “works”: “If we understand our faith correctly, we have no right to allow the ‘others’ to continue remaining in their faith…” and “Tolerance toward indifferent attitudes — supposedly that each is blessed in their own faith — is ultimately repugnant to faith.”
It was at Haack’s initiative that the so-called “blacklist” of new religious movements was compiled in Bavaria, where Nazi ideas were, and still remain, strong. This happened in 1990, but it was not until November 9, 2006, that the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that defamation was being used in the fight against “cults.” However, the efforts of these religious Nazis had already borne their poisonous fruit, not only in Germany.
For all these years, Haack and his followers conducted active international operations. Haack helped his “faithful ideological brother,” another fighter against “cults,” Johannes Aagaard (1928–2007), to establish the Institute of Missiology and Ecumenical Theology (Dialogue Center) at Aarhus University in Denmark. In 1981, Haack and Aagaard founded the International Dialogue Center, with offices in Greece, England, India, Ireland, Russia, and Germany, where Haack served as vice president.
Ultimately, he created an extensive network of centers for information and deprogramming across West Germany, Western Europe, and the United States. Since 1985, he has served as international research director for the American Family Foundation (AFF) in the United States.
The most notorious followers of the religious Nazi Aagaard are Thomas Gandow and Helle Meldgaard, the latter being Aagaard’s coauthor on the book “New Religious Movements in Western Europe” (1997).
The representative of the Dialogue Center in Russia became a disciple of Haack and Aagaard — Alexander Dvorkin, who created his own sect under the guise of anticult activity. He is the author of the scandalous textbook “Sectology. Totalitarian sects. Experience of systematic research)”, written from a standpoint not just of anticultism but of actual Nazism.
It was Alexander Dvorkin, who proclaimed himself the leading expert on sects and cults in Russia and who initiated labeling Jehovah’s Witnesses as a dangerous extremist community.
When the continuity of Nazi methods in persecuting dissenters under the pretense of combating “dangerous sects and cults” becomes impossible to ignore, it no longer feels like a coincidence that Jehovah’s Witnesses faced their harshest crackdowns in two countries: Nazi Germany and, today, in Russia. We’ll examine this connection more closely later in the article.
What’s Behid the Claims of Russia’s Leading Sectologist?
Here is an excerpt from an interview with A. Dvorkin:
“Olga Arslanova: Let’s talk about the specific allegations. The organization (Jehovah’s Witnesses) is being accused of extremism. While many of our citizens have a strong aversion to sects, it feels like, nowadays, almost anyone could be labeled an extremist if the authorities really wanted to. How should we interpret this particular charge? What exactly could be considered extremist about this sect’s activities?
Alexander Dvorkin: I suppose we need to wait for the court’s decision. We can’t get ahead of it. The court will determine whether extremism is present or not. But I think there are a few aspects that might catch the court’s attention. One is that this organization — this sect — puts the lives and health of its members at risk, particularly through its ban on blood transfusions. That’s a basic medical procedure that can save lives, yet the organization exerts pressure that prevents people from receiving it.
Petr Kuznetsov: And that’s a fact — children, and not just one, have died because of this.
Alexander Dvorkin: Not just children, but adults too. Yet the focus is primarily on children, because an adult at least has some chance to refuse, whereas children are subjected to decisions made by adults. That’s the fact.” 1
But where are these facts? Why are they never presented? Could it be because they simply do not exist?
Isn’t that why the country’s leading cult expert avoided official court proceedings for so long?
After all, Dvorkin himself opposes the introduction of a legal definition for the term “sect.” Because if such a legal concept were introduced, it would be necessary to prove with actual facts that an organization is a cult and that the accusations against it are truly substantiated. As the leader of the anticult movement himself stated: We would lose these cases.
“Any person can call an organization ‘sect’ with no fear of punishment if he considers it to be a sect.”
A. Dvorkin
Now, in the absence of a legal definition for “sect,” it is possible to accuse a person or organization without grounds and without consequences of actions they have not actually committed — thus creating a precedent in public opinion and provoking negative attitudes toward specific, innocent people.
This is exactly how A. Dvorkin operates.
Below is an excerpt from his article “Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
“The sect “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” also known as “The Watch Tower Society” (WTS), is one of the oldest totalitarian sects operating in Russia. It is often mistaken for a Protestant or Christian denomination. More serious scholars describe it as a pseudo-Christian, Heteroousian totalitarian sect. But even that isn’t quite accurate. In reality, the “The Watch Tower Society” is a pseudo-religious commercial organization rooted in a quasi-communist ideology, laced with elements of paganism and cloaked in a few Christian symbols and concepts. This is the viewpoint I will seek to prove over the course of this article.
Among all the totalitarian sects active in Russia, this one most closely resembles the Communist Party — even in appearance. That might be why it’s been so successful across the post-Soviet region. The structure of Jehovah’s Witnesses is strikingly similar to that of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, especially in its model of “democratic centralism.” Instead of worship services, the Witnesses hold “party meetings,” “political education sessions,” and “party congresses” (their annual “Jehovah’s Witnesses Conventions”). From an eschatological standpoint, they anticipate a very specific earthly paradise — essentially, a form of communism — where food is plentiful, work is minimal, everyone contributes “according to ability” and receives “according to need.” This earthly paradise leaves no place for God (Jehovah) or Christ.” 2
As of 2024, there are over 9 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in 240 countries worldwide.
And if we compare the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the post-Soviet space to those in countries where communist ideas are not dominant, Dvorkin’s “expert” claims look increasingly unconvincing.
Here’s how Sergei Ivanenko, Doctor of Philosophy and a religious scholar, explains the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses:
“Jehovah’s Witnesses are not a sect; they are a denomination.
Opponents of Jehovah’s Witnesses call them nothing other than a “sect.” Is there any basis for this?
There are three main types of religious organizations generally recognized by religious studies scholars: sects, denominations, and churches.
The word “sect” comes from the Latin “secta” (school, path, doctrine, movement). As a rule, a sect emerges in opposition to one or another religion predominant in society and the state. As for Jehovah’s Witnesses, they emerged as a Bible study group rather than an opposing movement within another denomination; to date they continue to show a keen interest in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not shut themselves off from other people; they are not what one would call a “closed group, alienated from the general public.” On the contrary, they are well-known for taking the initiative to go out and preach, talking to people about the Bible.
Thus, there is no reason to consider Jehovah’s Witnesses a sect.
The Governing Body does not claim infallibility, nor does it claim that members of the Governing Body fully understand everything written in the Bible.
“At times, they have made mistakes in doctrinal matters and in organizational direction,” The Watchtower notes…“Jehovah reveals the truth gradually, and we must be willing to wait patiently for the light of truth to get brighter (Proverbs 4:18).
…When those taking the lead realize that our understanding on a certain point of truth needs to be clarified, they do not hesitate to make the needed adjustments.” 4
Why, then, are the descriptions of the same group of people so vastly different?
It entirely depends on WHO is describing
On one hand, we have the view of a scholar — someone who has studied Jehovah’s Witnesses for over 30 years, meticulously researched the history of the movement, and engaged directly with its members and leadership.
On the other, we have claims of anticultist Alexander Dvorkin, filled with numerous unsubstantiated statements about Jehovah’s Witnesses. The arguments come from someone who didn’t even consider it necessary to meet the people whose lives he criticizes from the podium, thus influencing the opinions of millions who listen to him.
Here’s an interesting fact from Sergei Ivanenko’s book “The People Who Are Steadfast Under Persecution”:
“In 1993, I met some of the employees of the Department of Religious Education and Catechism of the Moscow Patriarchate, including Alexander Dvorkin, who was considered the Department’s leading expert on combating “sects.” We had an in-depth conversation, which led me to the conclusion that the “anti-sectarian” activities of the Department of Religious Education and Catechism and other structures of the Moscow Patriarchate potentially pose a significant threat to freedom of conscience in Russia.
I formed a distinct impression of the personality of A. L. Dvorkin, who has become a kind of symbol of Russian anti-cultism: burning eyes, aggressive speech, unbridled demagoguery and poor knowledge of the topic under discussion. I felt I was looking at the character Khlestakov in the flesh.
А. Dvorkin did not intend to study any religious movements that were new to Russia, or “sects.” In his opinion, as an Orthodox believer and an employee of the Moscow Patriarchate, he had no right to communicate with “heretics and sectarians.” He was proud of his knowledge and was fanatically convinced that he knew better than anyone everything about “sects.”
“Where do you get information about new religious movements in Russia?” I asked Dvorkin. He replied, “Everything you need to know has already been published in the West by anti-cult organizations.” 4
As we can see, Alexander Dvorkin doesn’t even try to hide the origins of his attitudes toward various organizations he labels as sects and cults and then targets for harassment and genocide.
His goal has never been to understand these people’s beliefs or activities. His mission is to eliminate anyone who might obstruct his path to total control. The first to eliminate are always the dissenters — those who deviate in any way, whether religiously, scientifically, commercially, or educationally. These are the same types of dissenters who were undesirable and persecuted during the Third Reich.
“Everything that I need to know has already been published in the West by anti-cultist groups.” 5
By whom? Walter Künneth, Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack, Johannes Aagaard? In other words, by Nazi sympathizers whose works Dvorkin studied so diligently. It is Dvorkin who is considered “the most talented student” of Johannes Aagaard, and he has never hidden the fact that Aagaard was his mentor and source of inspiration.
And today, this promoter of Nazi ideology — an individual actively injecting Nazi narratives into public discourse — serves as deputy chairman of the Expert Council on State Religious Evaluation at the Russian Ministry of Justice. From this position, he issues “expert” evaluations about organizations that count millions of members around the globe.
One Question, Two Answers: How Opinion Changes the Meaning
Alexander Dvorkin: “There’s something else to be said. In particular, I believe that the Jehovah’s Witnesses provoke the incitement of interreligious strife. And it’s not what people often claim — that because they say their religion is exclusive, that automatically means incitement of interreligious strife. Not at all, because every believer considers their faith to be exclusive; otherwise, they wouldn’t be a believer. That’s not the issue.
The issue is that when the Jehovah’s Witnesses came, let’s say, to our country with its established Orthodox tradition, their recruitment campaign — their prozealotizing campaign, their missionary campaign — starts off by crudely insulting the Orthodox faith in our country. They say the Church is the Babylonian harlot, that the cross is a phallic symbol, and so on.”
Alexander Dvorkin: “I don’t even want to continue quoting it, but this is meant to provoke quite a harsh reaction from believers. And this is exactly what constitutes the incitement of interreligious strife, because sometimes that reaction may even go too far, spill over. Of course, that’s bad, that’s not good — but nonetheless, the leadership of the sect is quite deliberately provoking it. They have their own objectives — objectives of creating a certain division, of cementing their sect — and for that purpose, this provocation is very useful from their point of view.” 6
Where exactly do Jehovah’s Witnesses say these things? Why does the country’s so-called “leading cult expert” never back up his accusations with evidence — let alone anything resembling scholarly proof?
Because these accusations — from Dvorkin and the rest of his well-coordinated network — are nothing more than lies. Lies designed to defame undesired organizations. Organizations that don’t fit into their vision of a new global totalitarian Nazi-style regime, one that Dvorkin and his associates are working so hard to build.
It’s one thing if such behavior came from someone mentally sick. But why do people who consider themselves sane support this?
This kind of abuse is a direct violation of every law and constitutional right in a democratic society — especially freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, and the presumption of innocence.
Now, let’s return to the opinion of Dr. Sergei Ivanenko, a religious scholar and Doctor of Philosophy.
“There are more than 20,000 different religions worldwide, and it is impossible for one researcher to study them all in a lifetime. In over 40 years as a religious scholar, I have been able to study, more or less thoroughly, only about 150 denominations.
Of all the religious movements I have encountered or read about, the most interesting to me are Jehovah’s Witnesses. I began studying this religion in 1990. At that time, the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses was still banned in the USSR; it was not registered until March 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, which occurred in December 1991.
In 2002, I defended my doctoral dissertation on the ideology and activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses, for the degree of doctor of philosophical sciences. As far as I know, this is the only dissertation on Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Russian Federation.
I continue to study this denomination under the present extreme conditions that have arisen after the April 20, 2017, decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to ban the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and all 395 legally registered local religious organizations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I am also trying to help believers who have not committed any crimes but are being prosecuted simply for their religious beliefs. At the invitation of lawyers, I appear in the courts as a specialist in religious studies.”4
“The fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses have no racial prejudices or ethnic conflicts commands respect. Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of the few, if not the only, large religious organizations completely devoid of ethnic enmity… Jehovah’s Witnesses have succeeded in creating an international brotherhood with the same beliefs in all countries of the world. They take all possible measures to ensure that there are no social, ethnic, racial, or class divisions among them. There are no disputes about politics among Jehovah’s Witnesses; they remain politically neutral and preach ‘the good news of the Kingdom’ which will eliminate all the problems of humanity, including war.” 4
As we can see, the opinion of a scholar and expert in religious studies who has spent more than 30 years studying the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses is fundamentally different from the unsubstantiated claims made by the sectologist Dvorkin.
Let’s go through Dvorkin’s main points one by one — his characterizations of the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, aimed at stirring up hatred toward them — and compare his conclusions with the opinions of scholars and experts in the field of religious studies.
A. Dvorkin:
“‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ reject any earthly government and everything associated with it: military service, oath-taking for public office, state holidays, saluting the flag, voting, and running for elected positions, and so on. All members of the sect consider themselves citizens of a single theocratic state — the ‘Watchtower Society’ with its capital in Brooklyn.” 2
Sergei Ivanenko, Doctor of Philosophy, religious scholar:
“‘You are no part of the world.’
Jehovah’s Witnesses firmly believe that they should be ‘no part of the world’ as Jesus Christ taught. For this reason, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not participate in political life (including voting in elections, joining political parties, and participating in rallies and demonstrations). They do not sing the national anthem, salute the national flag, or celebrate national holidays.
The attitude of Jehovah’s Witnesses toward the state is defined by the Bible principle: ‘Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.’ That is, Jehovah’s Witnesses are conscientious and disciplined in their work, pay their taxes honestly, and promote public welfare, but stay away from areas of life in which the state tries to force them to violate Bible principles and norms.
For Jehovah’s Witnesses, military service is unacceptable, because the Bible says that ‘In the final part of the days… Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore’ (Isaiah 2:2, 4). As understood by Jehovah’s Witnesses, this prophecy refers to the present time and to Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves, who do not take up arms or serve in the army.
At the same time, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe it is acceptable to perform alternative civilian service.
Jehovah’s Witnesses respect state authority and obey the laws of their country as prescribed by the Bible (Romans 13:1-7). However, when the authorities demand a renunciation of faith or a violation of Bible commandments, Jehovah’s Witnesses are guided by the principle established in the Bible: ‘We must obey God as ruler rather than men’ (Acts 5:29). 4
As the evidence shows, Jehovah’s Witnesses are law-abiding, peaceful citizens who respect the laws of the countries where they live.
Yet it’s quite interesting that Alexander Dvorkin himself holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United States. While outwardly appearing to collaborate with American and Western European anticult organizations, he is in fact orchestrating their efforts. Nonetheless, he accuses Jehovah’s Witnesses of viewing themselves as American citizens — citizens of what he calls Russia’s “eternal enemy” — by citing the fact that the organization’s headquarters is located in Brooklyn and portraying the Witnesses as foreign agents and a threat to national security. But this is just another one of Dvorkin’s fabrications. Meanwhile, his own American citizenship, unlike his accusations, is not a fabrication.
If we follow Dvorkin’s logic, then millions of people working for international organizations or corporations whose headquarters are located abroad could be accused of espionage — or worse.
Alexander Dvorkin:
“‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ are best known for their aggressive propaganda. They go door to door more frequently than members of many other sects, approach people on the street, hand out leaflets and magazines, insist on Bible study, and invite people to their gatherings.” 2
In response to this, we would like to cite the following example from the life of Jehovah’s Witnesses — a telling one that speaks volumes about their respect for individual freedom of choice.
Sergei Ivanenko, Doctor of Philosophy, religious scholar:
“Much of the literature published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society focuses on various aspects of parenting. These publications advise parents to see each child as a unique individual, educate children from an early age, and raise their ‘child in such a way that the child has every opportunity to grow into a responsible adult, who will continue actively to worship God and demonstrate love for his fellowman.’
Jehovah’s Witnesses recognize a child’s right to freedom of conscience. The Watchtower and other publications of the Society draw parents’ attention to the fact that children have the right to choose their own religion, and if they participate in Christian preaching, they should preach out of love for God Jehovah, not out of compulsion.
In families where parents have differing religious views and only one parent is a Jehovah’s Witness, ‘the Witness parent is encouraged to recognize the right of the non-Witness parent also to instruct the children according to his or her religious convictions. Children exposed to different religious views experience few, if any, ill effects,’ notes the brochure Jehovah’s Witnesses and Education. ‘In practice, all children have to decide what religion they will follow. Naturally, not all youths choose to follow the religious principles of their parents, whether Jehovah’s Witnesses or not.’” 4
If Jehovah’s Witnesses are this respectful of their children’s choices — which is rather the exception to the rule for most contemporary religious traditions and movements — it’s hard to imagine them being disrespectful of other people’s choices. On the contrary, they insist that the choice of religion must be a conscious decision. That’s why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not baptize infants. They only baptize those who choose their faith freely, have studied the Bible, and maintain a virtuous lifestyle.
And if the preaching activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses is considered “intrusive,” then how should we describe the work of any advertising company?
Maybe we should ask ourselves who — and why — is trying to instill in us such hostility toward law-abiding people.
After all, Jehovah’s Witnesses are most often seen calmly standing in public places with posters and books, approaching no one, simply offering information to those who express interest. Why does this peaceful dissemination of God’s Word provoke such outrage and even persecution, while much more aggressive marketing of things like alcohol, which is harmful to public health, causes no outrage?
Alexander Dvorkin:
“They’re also known for their distinct, fanatical refusal to accept blood transfusions. They trace this ban to the Book of Leviticus and Acts 15, where the Apostolic Council recommended that new Gentile Christians abstain from consuming animal blood.” 2
Sergei Ivanenko, Doctor of Philosophy, religious scholar:
“The refusal of Jehovah’s Witnesses to receive blood transfusions is the most common reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses are criticized. What is true and what is speculation? When Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusions, are they really risking their lives and defying the law?
To begin with, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not practice “faith healing,” but rather seek quality medical care. At the same time, they believe that the Biblical requirement to “keep abstaining from… blood” (Acts 15:20,29) refers not only to the prohibition against eating blood, but also to blood transfusion. Accordingly, they reject transfusions of whole blood and its four primary components — red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma.
However, Jehovah’s Witnesses have no prohibition against the use of blood fractions. Each individual is free to decide whether to accept immunoglobulins or serum prepared using blood fractions. It is up to the believer to decide whether or not to accept the use of methods such as hemodilution (in which some of the patient’s blood is temporarily diverted from the body and replaced with a volume expander), filtration and immediate return to the bloodstream of blood from a surgical site (cell salvage), the use of a heart-lung machine, and hemodialysis.
Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses carry a written directive not to give them a blood transfusion under any circumstances.66 This document may state their wishes regarding the use of minor blood fractions, procedures involving the use of their own blood, and other medical matters.” 4
In reality, Jehovah’s Witnesses place significant emphasis on working with medical institutions and doctors who practice bloodless surgery. They highly value life and take a careful and thoughtful approach to their health. The search for alternatives to blood transfusion is supported by many doctors and medical centers, particularly because of the risks of HIV, hepatitis, and other infections, which can increase with donor blood transfusions.
Article 20 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ of November 21, 2011, “On the fundamentals of protection of the public health in the Russian Federation,” guarantees the right to both informed voluntary consent to medical intervention and the right to refuse it. 7
Therefore, Jehovah’s Witnesses, in choosing to decline donor blood and its primary components, are fully within their legal rights and do not violate Russian law.
As we can see, the opinions of self-proclaimed expert Alexander Dvorkin and Sergei Ivanenko, PhD are fundamentally different.
The choice of whom and what to believe is up to each individual — whether to trust the claims of a man presenting himself as a professor of a non-existent discipline — sectology — whose slanderous accusations are not supported by facts, or to rely on a scholar who has spent more than 30 years studying the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The decision is yours.
When One Person’s Opinion Decides Everything — or Flies in the Face of Common Sense
The facts are clear: there is no evidence of criminal behavior or social harm caused by the religious community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
They are law-abiding citizens, pacifists, they believe in God, care for their children and their health, cooperate with medical institutions, and pay taxes. These are ordinary people who don’t interfere with anyone’s life.
Anatoly Pchelintsev, an honorary lawyer of Russia, shared that he was part of the expert commission of the Ministry of Justice that conducted an examination of this religious organization.
“I and other members of the expert council visited the religious organizations, observed the worship services, reviewed their practices and literature. The members of the expert council concluded that this is a law-abiding religious organization that poses no threat to society.” 8
Yet despite numerous expert assessments, a campaign of terror was launched against harmless people — very reminiscent of the repressions of the Third Reich.
And this is not surprising, considering that the initiator of this terror is none other than A. Dvorkin, a direct heir to these Nazi-style methods.
From an interview with A. Dvorkin:
Pyotr Kuznetsov: On the other hand, even the Third Reich couldn’t deal with them back in the day.
Alexander Dvorkin: The Third Reich… Listen, let’s not use the methods of the Third Reich.
Pyotr Kuznetsov: Of course not. 9
And although he refuses to acknowledge it in words, in reality, the exact opposite is happening.
Egiazar Chernikov, attorney for Jehovah’s Witnesses, told what happened to the believers during the interrogation.
“…In the so-called far room, my clients… were subjected to inhumane treatment and torture… They were made to stand against the doors of the stalls with their hands raised above their heads, had plastic bags put over their heads and taped around their necks to restrict oxygen flow. Their hands were bound behind their backs with tape, and then they were thrown to the floor, with their legs also taped together. The officials beat them, shouted at them, and demanded authoritatively, ‘You will give this testimony to the investigator, do you understand?! You will stop invoking Article 51, do you understand?!’
Even now… some victims cannot talk without crying. One of them said he inhaled the plastic bag and tried to bite through it just to get some air. At that moment, they poured water over him and delivered strong electric shocks to the groin areas. People writhed in pain, saying it felt as though their stomachs were flipping over and their entire bodies twisting from the agony. Three officers struck them standing above while extracting their testimonies. All of this was done as they were already suffocating. One of them said that just as he thought he was about to die, they allowed him to breathe. It can be said that those executioners were well-organized and highly experienced in the application of torture. They even boasted, ‘We’ve broken even worse terrorists than you.’ ” 8
Back in 2017, when the Supreme Court banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization, lawyers and human rights advocates tried to explain to the court that this would lead to repression against believers. They cautioned the court that the country could soon see 170,000 prisoners of conscience.
“Nevertheless, the court chose to liquidate the legal entities,” said attorney Viktor Zhenkov. “And today, based on that court ruling, ordinary believers are being prosecuted. The wording in the official documents is identical in every case. They say: the court banned the legal entities, but you continued reading the Bible together. Therefore, you ‘continued the activity of the organization’s administrative center.’” 8
Torture of the Elderly and Disabled
When you start looking into the stories of people labeled as dangerous extremists, perplexity is the least of your reactions. More than 70% of those either imprisoned or charged with a crime are over the age of 60 — most of them are with disabilities due to various health conditions. What exactly makes them dangerous?
Among the new victims of criminal prosecution in 2024, eight individuals are over the age of 60. The oldest, Nina Smirnova, is 74. In total, 235 people in this age group — 156 men and 79 women — have been charged with extremism for being Jehovah’s Witnesses, making up 28% of all such cases.
These are just a few examples of the torture and abuse inflicted on innocent people. But how much more is still hidden from the public eye, and how much remains behind the walls of so-called “correctional facilities”?
Are these punishments for refusing blood transfusions? For alleged misinterpreting the Bible? What are these people being tortured for — tortured right in front of society?
The list of brutal, inhumane acts committed by law enforcement — by those who are supposed to protect the public — is long. Here are just a few of them.
In July 2021, police raided the home of the Lubins, a married couple with disabilities, in the town of Shadrinsk. During the search, Tatiana, the wife of Alexander Lubin, suffered a stroke — she lost the ability to speak and move her legs. Despite this, Alexander was taken to the Investigative Committee, where he was informed that investigator Nikolai Astapov had initiated criminal proceedings against him under Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code: “Organizing the activity of an extremist organization.” He was sent to a pre-trial detention center for two months, even though his disability was clear — he could barely walk without assistance. That summer, only emergency intervention by the European Court of Human Rights helped mitigate his pre-trial restrictions. But the 20 days he spent behind bars severely worsened his condition — his pain became so intense that he could no longer leave his home.
Shortly before his death, Lubin said in court: “It was incredibly painful to watch elderly witnesses being questioned during my trial. It seemed like investigators intentionally selected people over 80. Many of them couldn’t see or hear well. They couldn’t understand much of what was said. It gave the impression that investigators were writing up interrogation transcripts however they pleased.” 11
During court sessions, Lubin was so physically weak he had to lie down on the bench just to catch his breath.
On November 14, a court in Kurgan convicted another disabled Jehovah’s Witness, sentencing 60-year-old Anatoly Isakov to a fine of 400,000 rubles under Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (Deputy Prosecutor of Kurgan Dmitry Kulikov had demanded eight years in a penal colony). Isakov, who was battling serious cancer and had recently undergone surgery, was sent to a pre-trial detention center, where his chemotherapy was interrupted. The charges against him — like nearly every case involving Jehovah’s Witnesses — were based on testimony from a secret witness whose identity was withheld. That witness claimed: “The believers discussed the Bible during their meetings.” 11
It just boggles the mind. A man is accused of extremism for discussing the Bible. And this is happening in a world where 6 billion people identify as religious — and 2.3 billion of them are Christians, who study and live by the Bible in their daily lives.
Jehovah’s Witness Rimma Vashchenko was 88 when the Investigative Committee in Nevinnomyssk opened a criminal case against her under Article 282.2. She was immediately placed on Rosfinmonitoring’s list of extremists and terrorists. Vashchenko, who suffered from a severe brain illness, was one of nine Jehovah’s Witnesses named in the case. She died at the age of 90 while still under investigation.
The case partially fell apart. By 2023, only two of the accused had made it to sentencing: Sergey Kuznetsov, who was visually and hearing impaired and whom investigators claimed was the group’s leader, and 76-year-old Georgy Parfentyev, who died shortly after the verdict. Both received suspended sentences.
Dehumanization: A Nazi Legacy
What’s even more horrifying is that these facts are published in the so-called “free” press; they are publicly available, and many people know what’s going on. Yet the genocide of innocent people continues.
Violence against the elderly and disabled has been turned into public show executions. People are tortured and killed simply for seeking their path to God. And society not only remains silent, there are many who openly support the repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses and other believers. Just as the German public once supported the genocide of the Jewish people. First, by silently observing, later, by expressing active support, and eventually, through direct participation in acts of violence.
This is how dehumanization works. It was a method used by the Nazis to discredit Jews in the eyes of Germans. There was aggressive propaganda portraying Jews as subhuman and as a danger to society. Demonizing caricatures and articles depicted them as rats, lice, cockroaches, and vultures, or compared them to a cancerous tumor on the body of society. The myth of a global Jewish conspiracy was spread with zeal. Gradually, the German people came to believe Jews were indeed a threat to them and their children.
It ended in genocide of six million Jews. This was the method of the Third Reich.
Today, anticultists employ the same strategy against various religious groups. Future victims are first branded as “cultists” or “sectarians,” while society is conditioned to believe that a “sectarian” equals a “subhuman.”
They portray “sectarians” as incapable of critical thought, allegedly obsessed with a sense of superiority, and aim at global domination.
Dvorkin: “Meanwhile, totalitarian sects pose certain dangers on four levels: personal, family, societal, and national. And we could add a fifth: the international aspect of their activities.” 12
“At the social level, totalitarian sects are dangerous because — unlike traditional religions, which enrich society and culture — they drain society of human and financial resources.” 13
“Cults do not enrich people, they only drain society of its juices, resources, recruit people who are taken completely out of public life, and siphon finances from society into their own closed and opaque systems. All of this resembles a cancerous tumor that drains out juices from the human body until it kills it.” 13
“The vast majority of totalitarian sects …… aspire to totalitarian control over the world, to global domination. Virtually every one of them to some degree has plans to seize power over the world, as incredible as it may sound, and has some scheme of the ideal order that they intend to establish if they come to power.” 12
Dvorkin: “The Jehovah’s Witnesses sect”, also known as the Watchtower Society (WTS), is one of the oldest totalitarian sects…”
Dvorkin: “And any sectarian is, in fact, a fanatic by definition. Because a sectarian, a member of a totalitarian sect, if required to lie, steal, kill, and so on, he simply does not think twice, but will carry out the order.” 14
And so, an atmosphere of danger is deliberately created around certain groups and their members. They’re accused of crimes despite any real evidence of “destructive activities.”
In fact, if one were to study most of the organizations labeled by anticultists honestly and without bias, it would become clear that they pose no threat — and often contribute positively to society, defending people’s rights and freedoms. The Church of Scientology, for example, is one such group.
Dehumanization is the first step in the anticult playbook for eliminating the undesirables. It’s the gateway to genocide.
Once a group — or an individual — is labeled a “sectarian” or “cultist,” they’re stripped of their humanity. From that point on, anything can be done to them without triggering sympathy or compassion. Anticultists need dehumanization to justify future crimes and to dull the public’s conscience and critical perception.
We know how the dehumanization of Jews ended. And we know the price the world paid for the silence and inaction.
Every world war started with the genocide of marginalized groups. These are history’s hard lessons — lessons we cannot afford to forget if we want to avoid repeating them.
Perhaps, Dvorkin spoke the truth unintentionally, and the methods used today by anticultists against millions of so-called “sectarians” aren’t from the Third Reich after all… but of the Fourth Reich, which is already establishing its power over us under a new name.
As we can see, their methods are notable for their sophisticated cruelty. One of them is slander, or better yet, blatant lies poured onto innocent people, while projecting onto others the very crimes they themselves commit.
Dvorkin: “Totalitarian sects may differ in appearance, but they all share certain traits. For example, they place no value on the lives of their own members or the lives of others.” 14
And here’s the result of Dvorkin’s activities: old and disabled people tortured to death.
But beyond those tortured to death by Dvorkin’s FSB hounds, there are still hundreds more who have been convicted.
“In October 2021, security forces burst into the Kalin family home early in the morning, smashing a kitchen window even though the front door wasn’t locked. Shards of glass scattered across the floor, and 52-year-old Yaroslav was thrown down onto them. Blood poured from his cut arms and legs. They handcuffed him and wouldn’t let him get dressed. ‘When we asked for a lawyer, they just laughed at us,’ said Yaroslav’s daughter, Svetlana. He later pulled the glass fragments from his body himself — while in pre-trial detention. Complaints filed by his daughter and son-in-law were met with rejections from both the Investigative Committee and the police.” 11
Against the Entire Democratic World
The list of abuses, violence, and humiliation inflicted on Jehovah’s Witnesses is endless today. The illegality of actions taken against these people has been repeatedly confirmed by European human rights courts.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling to shut down the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia is a terrible blow to freedom of religion and association in Russia,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia are now given the heartrending choice of either abandoning their faith or facing punishment for practicing it.”
From the 2020 report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom:
“The Global Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses (2020)
Introduction
State persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses has increased dramatically in recent years. The specific and ongoing persecution of this community across the world is particularly illustrative for global efforts on behalf of freedom of religion or belief(FoRB).
This report comes at a critical moment for the Jehovah’s Witness community, amid rising incidents of official repression, and concludes with recommendations for the U.S. government’s engagement with offending states.
Causes of Persecution
The governments outlined in this report tend to target Jehovah’s Witnesses as “extremists” or because of their conscientious objection to military service. Those countries that persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses on the basis of vague extremism accusations, however, have failed to provide any evidence to demonstrate that members of the community have ever been involved in any act of violence against the state or its citizens, or called for the overthrow of any such government.
On the contrary, the group is doctrinally apolitical and pacifist, and the prosecution of its members as dangerous “extremists” demonstrates the capacity for abuse inherent in vague and sweeping anti-extremism legislation.
In most cases, the core issue behind state persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses is conscientious objection — a critical component of FoRB upheld by Articles 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
More than many groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses tend to bear the brunt of official and societal persecution because of their uncompromising stances on neutrality towards the state — raising critical questions about the nature of citizenship, the autonomy of thought and belief, and, ultimately, the scope of religious freedom.
Persecution in Russia and other countries
This update describes governmental discrimination against Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world, with a particular focus on countries where members have been imprisoned for their beliefs, including Russia.
On April 20, 20217 Jehova’s Witnesses were banned in Russia, based on the accusation that the church was an “extremist organization.” Because of their uncompromising stance against participation in typical rituals of state, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are a frequent target for authoritarian governments, who always require a baseline of participation in state symbolism. USCIRF considers the persecution of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia a strong indicator of rising authoritarianism.”
Commissioned Expert Opinions
Let us review the opinion of Sergei Ivanenko, Doctor of Philosophy and a religious scholar, who participated in the court proceedings as an invited expert:
“I had to read quite a few of the expert conclusions that the courts used as the basis for declaring the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be extremist materials.
As a religious studies scholar with many years of experience and a doctoral degree in Philosophical Sciences, earned for my study of the religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I can state that in most cases, what is involved are ‘made to order’ expert studies that were conducted by experts who are not only devoid of the necessary qualifications but also devoid of conscience.
I would like to highlight that some expert studies, including the very first ones in the Taganrog case, were performed by conscientious experts – religious studies scholars, linguists, and psychologists. However, the questions posed to the experts were deliberately unclear or cunningly worded, and judges misrepresented the conclusions of the conscientious experts and attributed to the expert studies conclusions they did not contain. I believe that the courts’ ‘twisted’ interpretation of some of the expert studies conducted by conscientious experts is one indication that the negative decisions by these courts against Jehovah’s Witnesses were predetermined.
The 2010 Report of the Human Rights Commissioner in the Russian Federation contains a convincing example of the biased and ‘made to order’ nature of some court decisions: ‘Working with complaints from religious organizations, the Commissioner has drawn attention to the fact that sometimes the experts appointed by the investigation found no evidence of extremism in their literature. In such rare cases, the investigation and the courts ‘take care of it’ themselves by declaring the religious literature extremist regardless of the expert conclusion. During the reporting year, the Commissioner monitored the case of the liquidation of the local religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Taganrog (Rostov Region). During the trial an expert conclusion dated July 15, 2009 by the Southern Regional Center for Forensic Expert Studies under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation was presented to the court. The authors of the report – psychologists, philologists, and religious studies scholars – concluded that they could not find unequivocal signs of extremism in the religious literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses that they analyzed. Nevertheless, on September 11, 2009, the Rostov Regional Court ruled to declare the religious literature extremist and to liquidate the religious organization.
After reading the case materials, the Commissioner petitioned the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which had considered the supervisory appeal from the chairman of the governing committee of the Administrative Center for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, and raised the issue of reversing this court decision.
In the opinion of the Commissioner: 1) the arguments of the court of first instance regarding the extremist nature of the literature of the LRO (local religious organization) of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Taganrog were based solely on selective quotations from the expert conclusion, while the experts’ overall conclusions regarding the absence of extremist features in the literature were not taken into account; 2) religious literature published before 1999 had already been repeatedly examined by the authorized state authorities, and no signs of extremism were found in it.” 4
An interesting fact: it was in April 2009 that A. Dvorkin became Chairman of the Expert Council on State Religious Evaluation at the Russian Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.
And it is from that year that the repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses began to intensify — particularly through the use of commissioned expert opinions aimed at labeling their literature as extremist. That is why one increasingly finds such ambiguous phrases in expert conclusions as: “The analysis of the provided religious literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses did not allow us to clearly identify the presence of extremist content.”
Are experts truly incapable of determining, clearly and definitively, whether or not a piece of literature is extremist?
Why do all real experts find a discrepancy between the content of the literature submitted for examination and the opinion submitted to the court or the courts’ own rulings? It’s because the entire campaign of harassment and persecution against Jehovah’s Witnesses is “commissioned,” orchestrated from the top, and amounts to nothing less than the early stages of genocide. It is a campaign led by the anticult organization RACIRS, headed by Alexander Dvorkin, targeting an entire religious community that today numbers 170,000 in Russia alone — and 9 million worldwide. 9 millions of “undesirables” on the blacklist of anticultists — modern-day Nazis who are clawing their way toward total power, already dictating to law enforcement who should be prosecuted, how, and what verdicts should be handed down.
And this is why “the arguments of the court of first instance regarding the extremist nature of the literature of the LRO (local religious organization) of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Taganrog were based solely on selective quotations from the expert conclusion” — of anticultists from RACIRS — “while the experts’ overall conclusions regarding the absence of extremist features in the literature were not taken into account.”
Nevertheless, a decision was handed down to declare the literature extremist and to ban it.
Repression Continues
Here is the reaction from the Russian ‘justice system’:
Any signs of justification of Jehovah’s Witnesses in publications may be grounds for prosecutors to seek sanctions against the authors.
Recently, the State Duma passed a law stating that any decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued after March 15, 2022 — the date Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe officially ended — will no longer be enforceable in the country. 17
And Repression Still Continues
Repression Against Jehovah’s Witnesses: 2024 Year in Review.
December 23, 2024
Courts continue to send Jehovah’s Witnesses behind bars, and the sentence handed down to three of them this year set a new record for severity. There were cases of violence and torture; the proportion of elderly among these “prisoners of conscience” has grown, and there are individuals with severe disabilities — one of whom died shortly after sentencing. The trend of prosecuting entire families continues.
As of December 16, Russian security forces had conducted at least 96 raids on Jehovah’s Witnesses’ homes since the beginning of 2024, with the highest number — 17 — taking place in Crimea.
Since 2017, the total number of raids has reached 2,157.
In seven years of mass persecution, the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses who have been sentenced has reached 543. Of these, 186 believers have received real prison terms. Among them, 113 people (61%) were sentenced to more than five years.
This is the essence of every totalitarian regime — one that Dvorkin is systematically building using the Nazi methods of his ideological mentors. It has nothing to do with caring for people. It’s about grinding them down into submission, into blind, obedient servitude. And in such a system, the greatest threat is posed by those who think freely — those who value their own rights and the rights of others to remain a free Human being.
Maybe It’s Time for Us To Ponder
What are the guiding principles of a state where people who live by God’s commandments, by the commandments that Jesus brought into the world, become pariahs, outcasts, subject to persecution, torture, and genocide?
Let’s reflect for a moment: who is truly closer to Christ’s teachings — Jehovah’s Witnesses or those who persecute them? Whose ideas resonate more with you?
What kind of world would be better? A world where people refuse to pick up weapons and kill, or a world where priests bless wars and nuclear weapons? Who are the real extremists?
And what kind of citizens does the state want?
Those who are ready to kill on command? Those who break the law and violate the rights of others, who call for violence, like anticultists — modern-day Nazis?
Or those who stay true to their beliefs, who live peacefully among others, and invite people to live by the same moral principles?
Let’s take a hard look at who in our society becomes an outcast, who is subjected to persecution, torture, and abuse. Do we really find unacceptable people who refuse to kill and rape?
And doesn’t it trouble us that today’s Nazis and anticultists target the exact same groups of people? This is a question lying in plain sight. This fact alone should be alarming and suggest the right answer. Are we really sure we understand what’s going on?
Innocent people are being killed right before our eyes. A handful of human rights advocates and honest scholars speak out. But society doesn’t just stay silent — it shouts, “Crucify them!” They’re “sectarians”, “cultists,” they’re dangerous.
Just as the German people once helped the Nazis persecute Jews, today’s society supports and assists anticultists in their purge of Jehovah’s Witnesses and other so-called “cultists,” without stopping to think that tomorrow, or even today, they themselves could end up on the anticultists’ blacklist.
This is how dehumanization works, this is how other methods of manipulating public consciousness are employed. These include mass media propaganda of supremacist ideas — tools anticultists successfully used during the lead-up to World War II.
Only now, these techniques have been refined and intensified. The Center for Religious Studies in the name of Hieromartyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, and the anticult organization RACIRS, under Dvorkin’s leadership, now serve the same role once played by the Apologetic Center of Walter Künneth during the rise of fascist Germany. In essence, global anticultism today is a covert revival of Nazism — only in a more advanced and brutal form.
Anticult activists do not hold academic positions, nor do they engage in objective research, though they often pretend to. In truth, they intentionally implant their own fabricated terms — “destructive cult” and “totalitarian sect” — into the public discourse and use them to stir hatred and religious intolerance. The criteria and accusations they use to label organizations as “cults” or “sects” are not recognized in academia or under any legal standard.
It’s important to understand that the true target of this persecution is not just the discredited and oppressed groups themselves, but society as a whole, which is made to witness this public crackdown. Witnessing the dismantling of fundamental rights and freedoms of people just like themselves instills a constant fear for their own lives and the lives of their children — making society as a whole more controllable.
By creating the image of an ever-present threat in the form of “totalitarian sects” and spreading the language of hate, anticultists are, in effect, preparing the ground for new military conflicts and mass unrest. On a global scale, they are paving the way to World War III.
This is what happens when people refuse to think critically or figure things out. We become supporters of crazy ideas, we take the side of the killers… of innocent people. The nation that once defeated Nazism is now, under Dvorkin’s influence, being nazified by the agent network of RACIRS.
To this day, no Russian court has ever presented evidence that the so-called “extremist” organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses has driven anyone to death.
Meanwhile, the evidence of innocent people dying as a result of trials and incitement of hate by anticultists and their accomplices in the mass media is more than enough to grasp the abyss we’re falling into — and the threat looming over all of us.
How did we get here? What methods of psychological manipulation are being used by anticult organizations to influence public consciousness? We’ll take a closer look at those tactics in the upcoming articles.
Sources:
1.https://otr-online.ru/programmy/segodnya-v-rossii/aleksandr-dvorkin-25929.html
2.https://glubokoe-blag.cerkov.ru/2021/02/12/a-dvorkin-svideteli-iegovy/
3.https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/2024-Service-Year-Report-of-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Worldwide/2024-Country-and-Territory-Reports/
4.https://ivanenko.online/en/book/the-people-who-are-steadfast-under-persecution/part-i-jehovahs-witnesses-in-the-years-of-persecution-the-view-of-religious-studies-scholar-sergei-ivanenko/jehovahs-witnesses-who-are-they/
5.https://uat.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429288463-5/alternative-spiritualities-russia-conflict-ukraine-stanislav-panin
6.https://otr-online.ru/programmy/segodnya-v-rossii/aleksandr-dvorkin-25929.html
7.https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC107198/
8.https://www.svoboda.org/a/29847876.html
9.https://otr-online.ru/programmy/segodnya-v-rossii/aleksandr-dvorkin-25929.html
10.https://www.jw-russia.org/news/2024/12/230900.html
11.https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2024/11/25/svideteli-umiraiut-pod-sledstviem
12.https://www.gazeta.ru/social/2013/08/23/5603921.shtml
13.https://sovetskaya-adygeya.ru/2019/10/18/kak-ne-popast-v-sektu-razgovor-s-aleksandrom-dvorkinym/
14.https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/sekty/sektovedenie-totalitarnye-sekty/1
15.https://www.hrw.org/ru/news/2017/04/21/302591
16.https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/2022%20Russia%20Backgrounder.pdf
17. https://www.interfax.ru/russia/845283
18.https://www.interfax.ru/tags/%D1%E2%E8%E4%E5%F2%E5%EB%E8+%C8%E5%E3%EE%E2%FB
19. https://www.jw.org/ru/%D0%B1%D0%B8%D
