[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 98 (Friday, June 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7299-S7300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ALEXANDR LEBED'S ATTACKS ON FAITH

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, when Alexandr Lebed called the Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ``mold and scum'' he attacked my 
faith. Russia's new security chief--the man who stands behind Boris 
Yeltsin--attacked the faith of America's 6th largest church. I believe 
this requires an immediate and forceful response, and my colleagues and 
I have drafted a letter to Boris Yeltsin, Ambassador Vorontsov and 
Secretary of State Christopher.
  In his campaign comments yesterday, Lebed struck the nationalist 
chord. He spoke of the ``officially recognized'' faiths of ``Orthodox 
Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.'' There is no mention of Russia's 
Jews, and that concerns me greatly.
  The Mormon faith is a ``security threat'' to Russia, according to 
Lebed. It is comparable to the Japanese cult that unleashed poison gas 
on Tokyo last year. Comparing the Christian faith of the Mormons to a 
murderous cult led by a deranged individual is a calumny. Referring to 
the Mormons as a security threat appears to be anti-democratic 
demoguogery reminiscent of communist propoganda.
  Remember that, in the old days of communist propaganda, the Russian 
people were kept in ignorance and fear with official myths of 
fabricated foreign threats.
  Remember that, in the old days of the communist regime, the 
totalitarian state disguised itself as a paternalistic state that 
denied all individual rights, including the freedom of religious 
practice.
  We shouldn't be surprised, after all. Lebed has taken his outrageous 
rhetoric right out of the resurgent communist party's playbook. This 
bodes ill for democratic evolution in Russia.
  I think Mormons should be insulted, and I am declaring my outrage 
here. I

[[Page S7300]]

think Jews should be concerned, and I am declaring my complete support 
for Russian Jews here.
  And I think the Russian people should be insulted. I have too much 
respect for the character, strength, and, yes, the spirit of the 
Russian people to think that they need to be patronized by threats of 
religious persecution.
  I will continue to support democratic evolution in Russia. And I 
think that this evolution demands respect for all human rights--
including the right to freedom of religion. I have expressed this in a 
letter I have drafted to President Yeltsin and Ambassador Vorontsov, 
and I am grateful that my colleagues here have co-signed it. I am also 
happy to sign the letter Senator Bennett has drafted to Secretary of 
State Christopher.
  I ask unanimous consent that these letters be printed in the Record.
  I now call on Alexandr Lebed to apologize, and to demonstrate that he 
has no intention of repeating his threats to freedom of religion in 
Russia. The future of democratic Russia depends on the preservation of 
this freedom.
  There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, June 28, 1996.
     His Excellency Boris Yeltsin,
     President of the Russian Federation, The Kremlin, Moscow, 
         Russia.
       Dear President Yeltsin: We are writing to express our 
     outrage at the comments on religion reported by Western and 
     Russian news agencies of your new National Security Council 
     Chief, Alexandr Lebed. Mr. Lebed's malicious, unfounded and 
     untrue remarks are an attack on all of the Christian faithful 
     of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 
     Mormon Church. His comparison of the Mormons to a murderous 
     cult in Japan is offensive, false, and a heinous calumny that 
     could not be explained by mere ignorance.
       In addition, his notable exclusion of the Jewish faith from 
     the religions he believes should be ``officially recognized'' 
     raises concerns worldwide. We are greatly worried over what 
     such an omission means for Russia's Jews.
       We are strong supporters of democratic evolution in Russia 
     and have watched with great admiration many of the recent 
     developments in your country. But we simply cannot understand 
     how such hateful declarations of intolerance from leaders of 
     the Russian government can be reconciled with individual 
     human rights, the whole of which cannot exclude freedom of 
     religion.
       Furthermore, while we admire and support the very real 
     movement toward democracy in Russia, we cannot ignore the 
     manifestation, explicit in these remarks, of a mentality from 
     Russia's authoritarian past that fabricates foreign threats 
     and influences.
       Finally, we have all studied Russian history. As citizens 
     of a free country, we've probably had access to greater 
     resources on Russian history than citizens of your country 
     had up until a few years ago. Any understanding of Russian 
     history must recognize the character and intelligence of the 
     Russian people as well as their individual courage. It is 
     simply incomprehensible to us that any of Russia's leaders 
     would insult their own citizens with a paternalistic attempt 
     to prevent them from making their own determinations about 
     matters as deeply personal as religious beliefs.
           Sincerely,
     Orrin G. Hatch.
     Jesse Helms.
     Robert F. Bennett.
     Arlen Specter.
     Harry Reid.
     Joseph I. Lieberman.
                                                                    ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, June 28, 1996.
     His Excellency Yuliy M. Vorontsov,
     Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Ambassador: We are writing to express our outrage 
     at the comments on religion reported by Western and Russian 
     news agencies of your new National Security Council Chief, 
     Alexandr Lebed. Mr. Lebed's malicious, unfounded and untrue 
     remarks are an attack on all of the Christian faithful of the 
     Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, the Mormon 
     Church. His comparison of the Mormons to a murderous cult in 
     Japan is offensive, false, and a heinous calumny that could 
     not be explained by mere ignorance.
       In addition, his notable exclusion of the Jewish faith from 
     the religions he believes should be ``officially recognized'' 
     raises concerns worldwide. We are greatly worried over what 
     such an omission means for Russia's Jews.
       We are strong supporters of democratic evolution in Russia 
     and have watched with great admiration many of the recent 
     developments in your country. But we simply cannot understand 
     how such hateful declarations of intolerance from leaders of 
     the Russian government can be reconciled with individual 
     human rights, the whole of which cannot exclude freedom of 
     religion.
       Furthermore, while we admire and support the very real 
     movement toward democracy in Russia, we cannot ignore the 
     manifestation, explicit in these remarks, of a mentality from 
     Russia's authoritarian past that fabricates foreign threats 
     and influences.
       Finally, we have all studied Russian history. As citizens 
     of a free country, we've probably had access to greater 
     resources on Russian history than citizens of your country 
     had up until a few year ago. Any understanding of Russian 
     history must recognize the character and intelligence of the 
     Russian people as well as their individual courage. It is 
     simply incomprehensible to us that any of Russia's leaders 
     would insult their own citizens with a paternalistic attempt 
     to prevent them from making their own determinations about 
     matters as deeply personal as religious beliefs.
           Sincerely,
     Orrin G. Hatch.
     Jesse helms.
     Robert F. Bennett.
     Arlen Specter.
     Harry Reid.
     Joseph I. Lieberman.
                                                                    ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, June 28, 1996.
     The Honorable Warren Christopher,
     Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: According to Western news agencies, 
     yesterday General Alexander Lebed, the new head of Russia's 
     National Security Council, made a number of comments on 
     religious life in Russia today. First, he equated the Church 
     of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to the Japanese 
     terrorist cult Aum Supreme Truth. His characterization of the 
     Church is defamatory and indefensible in any circumstances, 
     let alone for the second most powerful official in the 
     Russian Federation. Further, given Russia's history of anti-
     Semitism, his omission of the Jewish faith as an acceptable 
     part of religious life in Russia further reflects a dangerous 
     return to the practices of the past.
       Equally disturbing, General Lebed's assessment of the 
     principal religious traditions in Russia, beyond being false, 
     is taken directly from the preelection speeches of Communist 
     Party Gennadei Zyuganov. This willingness to adopt Communist 
     misstatement on the part of a Russian government official 
     leaves us genuinely concerned about whether the Russian 
     political elite is serious in its efforts to break decisively 
     with the Communist past.
       As Senators, however, we are most offended that such 
     statements by Mr. Lebed, or any other Russian official, 
     indicate no tolerance in Russia for religious freedom or 
     dissent of any kind. Such behavior demonstrates that, despite 
     the presence of electoral institutions, Russia has made 
     precious little progress toward the development of a civil 
     society. Indeed, Mr. Lebed's statements may have demonstrated 
     that the emperor of Russia ``democracy'' has no clothes.
       Finally, Mr. Secretary, inasmuch as freedom of religion is 
     a core element of American society and one of the bases of 
     our current assistance program, we ask that you review United 
     States assistance to Russia. In a separate letter, we will be 
     raising the same issue with Brian Atwood, Administrator of 
     AID. We look forward to your comments.
           Sincerely,
     Robert F. Bennett.
     Harry Reid.
     Arlen Specter.
     Orrin G. Hatch.
     Joseph I. Lieberman.

                          ____________________