Proposed Russian Law Would Return State-Owned Religious Property To Orthodox Church

According to Interfax yesterday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says that a bill has been drafted to deal with transferring state-owned religious property back to the Russian Orthodox Church. Putin said that all assets must be transferred "in a proper form and accompanied by proper financial procedures." In a meeting with Patriarch Kirrill, Putin said he is certain that the Church and the government "will find the solutions that will return to regional organizations what they rightfully own rather than destroy what was created in the past years."