The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, has approved an amendment to federal laws to give state or municipal land to religious organizations.
The amendments says that “religious organizations that own buildings, constructions, structures of religious or charitable destination, situated on land belonging to the state or municipalities, receive these ground areas free of charge,” ITAR-TASS news agency reported. The amendments were introduced to the Land Code and to two federal laws.
The chairman of the Duma committee for property, Viktor Pleskachevsky, quoted by the agency, called these amendments “restoration of justice,” because it gives the land appropriated by the state in 1917 back to the church.
373 deputies voted for the amendments; 50 against. Deputy head of the communist faction, Sergei Reshulsky, criticized the amendments and called them “footsie with religious theme”.
“Why do we pick out a higher caste and pass the land to religious organizations for free? Why don’t we do the same to farmers, invalids?” Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. He found little support among his fellow MPs, however.