The impact of globalization on the changing religious situation of the Russian Far East between the 1980s and 2019

The study explores the recent history of state-religious relations in Russia, which began in the late 1980s. The author assesses the impact of globalization on the religious life of the region, highlights periods of transformation of characterized process. The period from the late 1980s to 1997 is characterized by powerful integration processes in the post-Soviet space. The Russian Far East is becoming a clash of foreign policy interests of neighboring states, a place where foreign missionaries flock, whose activities are aimed both at helping existing religious associations, and at disseminating new teachings that are not traditional for the region. Since 1997, after the adoption of the federal law On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations, a new period begins, which is based on disintegration processes. Communities that belonged to new religions and were created by foreigners with enormous finances, but did not have ethnic and cultural grounds in the region, could not stand the test of time and lost influence on the local society. Protestant organizations traditional for the region took shape organizationally, acquired a stable status of a partner of the state in the sociocultural space of the Far East and Russia as a whole. Most Far Eastern Protestant denominations during this period began independent missionary programs in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The adoption in 2016 of anti-terrorism legislation, known as the Yarovaya package, intensified disintegration trends in the field of international contacts of Far Eastern faiths. The processes of globalization were limited to the post-Soviet space and neighboring countries. Against the backdrop of a constant threat from the state, Protestant denominations reduced their activity in the social space of the region. During this period, the formation of the Islamic component in the religious life of the Far East was completed.