Russia today added the Church of Satan to its list of terrorist and extremist organizations, allowing people found by courts to be affiliated with the group to face long prison sentences.
Moscow took a similar step in 2023 against the LGBT community, and the International Satanic Movement is now listed on the website of the Russian Financial Transactions Monitoring Service, although an organization with that name does not formally exist.
"It has been established that this movement is based on extremist ideology, hatred and hostility towards traditional religious confessions," the Russian Prosecutor General said.
According to the text, "followers of the movement practice rituals and ritual murders, but also commit crimes against minors."
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is close to the influential Russian Orthodox Church, has repeatedly accused the West of spreading "decadent and Satanic" values because of its tolerance of the LGBT community.
Bonus video:
