A Christian university providing higher education to Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Saint Petersburg has been fined 60,000 rubles for keeping books from a banned organisation in its library.
The penalty was announced by the Joint Press Service of Saint Petersburg City Courts on its official Telegram channel. According to court officials, the administrative fine was imposed after literature produced by an entity designated as undesirable was found available to readers.
Inspectors located two specific titles accessible to visitors holding a university library card. The books were identified as Mission in Profession: Achieving the Maximum, Overcoming Challenges, and The Alphabet of Worship in the Family: 55 Characteristics of God for Family Worship.
Both publications were produced by Mission Eurasia Inc., an international non-profit organisation also known as Mission Eurasia. The Russian Ministry of Justice included Mission Eurasia Inc. in its official registry of foreign and international non-governmental organisations whose activities are recognised as undesirable in Russia under an order dated May 13, 2026.
University defense and court proceedings
During court proceedings, a representative for the university did not admit guilt. The representative told the court that the institution had previously taken steps to locate and destroy undesirable books within its collection.
Russia's law on undesirable organisations allows federal authorities to ban foreign non-governmental groups deemed to pose a threat to national security or constitutional order. Entities placed on the Ministry of Justice registry face a total prohibition on their operations, distribution of materials, and local activities, leaving institutions liable to judicial fines if prohibited texts remain in public or institutional libraries.
Saint Petersburg, located in northwestern Russia, is the country's second-largest city and a major cultural and academic centre. The institution fined in the case serves Evangelical Christians-Baptists, one of the primary Protestant Christian denominations operating across the Russian Federation.
Broader enforcement of organisation bans
The fine forms part of broader administrative enforcement actions by Russian authorities against individuals and institutions connected to banned groups. Russian courts previously penalised Sergei Krivokharchenko, a former television sports commentator, for participating in the activities of an organisation recognised as undesirable within Russian territory.
Mission Eurasia Inc. was established as an international evangelical ministry that distributes religious literature and conducts educational programmes across Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Russian regulations require academic and religious libraries to continuously monitor their catalogued holdings to ensure compliance with updated Ministry of Justice registries.
