As reported by Mediazona:
Russian Supreme Court Judge Oleg Nefedov has granted a request from the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice to designate the “international Satanist movement” as “extremist”. In November 2023, the same judge made a similar ruling against the non-existent “international LGBT movement”.
On the morning of July 23, Russia’s Supreme Court designated Satanism as “extremist” and banned its activities with immediate effect. The case was heard behind closed doors, with neither the public nor journalists present....
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, first mentioned the “International Satanist movement” in January 2025, when he called for a legislative ban on Satanism in Russia....
In early July, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice filed a suit with the Supreme Court to have the “international Satanist movement” declared extremist.
According to Politico:
Despite the official-sounding name, the “International Movement of Satanists” does not appear to exist, at least not under that moniker.
Russia's Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement (full text) yesterday:
Today, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation satisfied the claim of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov to recognize the International Movement of Satanists as extremist and ban its activities in Russia.
As established, the movement is based on extremist ideology, hatred and enmity towards traditional religious confessions.
Its participants publicly call for extremism, as well as for the destruction, damage and desecration of Orthodox churches, chapels, worship crosses, etc.
The followers of the movement adhere to the general principles of Satanism, use the same symbols and attributes, and perform occult rites. The conceptual basis is made up of publications recognized as extremist materials.
The movement is closely associated with manifestations of radical nationalism and neo-Nazism.
Along with ritual murders, participants also commit other crimes, including against minors.
