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On Friday, the Gosduma (lower house of the Federal Assembly) passed a bill that bans parents from officially giving their babies names that are foul words, numbers, titles, or abbreviations. Pavel Krasheninnikov, the head of the Gosduma Committee for State Construction and Legislation, told us that the law bans figures, abbreviations, numerals, symbols, characters that aren’t letters (except a dash), obscene words and titles or positions as baby names. Nevertheless, the law grants parents an opportunity to give their baby a dual surname at birth. Krasheninnikov said:
Until now, the law allowed a “double-barrelled” surname after marriage, when a couple could combine two surnames in one. The law would grant parents a right to give a dual surname at birth, combining the surnames of mother and father. The previous legislation also failed to oblige people to give their offspring names that didn’t violate the children’s interests or rights. We know about such weird names as Air Traffic Controller, Lancelot, Lexus, Lettuce, or BOChrVF260602 (which translates to “biological human object of the Voronin-Frolov family born on 26 June 2002”), Prince, or Tsar. Most children with such names are subject to bullying at kindergartens and schools and usually feel outcasts. Children can’t change their names before the age of 14. The law formalised a child’s right to a normal life, to well-balanced growth, and respect for their individuality and human dignity. As you know, your rights end where my rights begin.
BOChrVF260602, who is already 14, still has no ID papers since the Moscow registration office refused to register such an outlandish name. Subsequently, a court upheld this ban.
21 April 2017
TASS
Voices from Russia 
Russia’s Supreme Court Deems Jehovah Witnesses Extremist, Bans Organisation
Tags: extremism, Jehovah's Witnesses, JWs, legal, Ministry of Justice (Russia), political commentary, politics, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Russia, Russian, Sects
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On Thursday, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled the activities of the main centre of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia to be extremist, banning its work, and seizing their property. Judge Yuri Ivanenko ruled:
Earlier, the Minyust applied for an order to shut down the JW’s national headquarters near St Petersburg. Judge Ivanenko said:
Following the ruling, JW representatives said that the group would appeal the court’s decision, stressing that they’re prepared to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. The judicial ruling hasn’t yet taken legal effect. Should the JWs lodge an appeal, the ruling would come into legal force at the announcement of the appellate resolution. Otherwise, the ruling would become final within 30 days.
In March, the authorities suspended the activities of the Administrative Centre of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia… the largest Jehovah’s Witnesses group in the country, with some 175,000 adherents. According to the Minyust, the suspension came because the group conducted “extremist activity”.
20 April 2017
Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704201052821725-russia-supreme-court-jehovah-witnesses-extremism/