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Salvation Army Under Attack in Russia NewsMax.comMoscow is declaring war against the Salvation Army, according to the London Times. Known as the champion of the poor since the time of the tsars, the Salvation Army is facing closure if the Moscow city government gets its way in a lawsuit some say was instigated by the Russian Orthodox Church, which is closely allied with Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. The Salvation Army is one of a tiny number of charities that aid and comfort the poor, aged, infirm and homeless. It is a target of the Orthodox Church, which has fought the resurgence of outside religious groups and sees the Salvation Army as nothing more than a religious cult, the Times wrote. The Salvation Army came to help Russia's poor in 1913 and was liquidated by Lenin's secret police in 1923. It returned to Russia in 1992 to bring food and clothing and give moral support to those millions of Russians suddenly reduced to poverty and homelesness by the sudden collapse of communism and the loss of their state welfare benefits. The Salvation Army's Col. Kenneth Baillie, who heads the group in Russia, told the Times that he had heard speculation about the Orthodox Church and had wondered whether the lawsuit was an indirect way of asking for money. "But we will not simply fold up our tents and walk away - we will battle this and win," he said. Last November Mayor Luzhkov refused to grant the charity a permit to work in Moscow, even though other Russian cities had registered it, the Times reported. Although Moscow authorities did not say why, the Salvation Army said afterward that the court had been told the outrageous lie that the group is a militarized outfit intent on violent overthrow of the Russian government. Part of the reason for the Salvation Army's problems is a law introduced four years ago, allegedly at the behest of the Orthodox Church, that stipulates that all but four mainstream religions must re-register with the authorities. According to the Times, the mayor does not hide his relationship with the church. He built it a remarkably ugly $300 billion cathedral at a time when the economy was in shambles as the Soviet Union crumbled.
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