Annotation

Despite the secular nature of the Russian state, contemporary relations between church and state affect, if not all, then the vast majority of spheres of Russian society. This article examines the role of public authorities in protecting the rights of believers in the Russian Federation. Through an analysis of legislative provisions, the law enforcement practices of government bodies, and the doctrinal positions of legal scholarship, the author concludes that there is a tendency for public authorities to monopolize the resolution of disputes in this area of society. This, to some extent, is a marker of its desecularization and indicates a shift in the boundaries of state and church intervention into each other’s sphere of jurisdiction.