73 Orgs and missions in Russia,(See Org Patrol Europe) most of which in the Asian part, many in Siberia. Did DM buy the Gulags from the Russian Maffia? Could come in handy to keep troublesome deserters out of reach of grand juries.

There's even a mission in Kamchatka. Who do they wanna convert? The brown bears? Nobody else lives there..

And let's not forget those ridiculous 12 missions in Kazachstan. They too probably cater mostly to the Russian part of the population.
Russia may be large, but it is sparsely populated and outside the big cities the people are deeply traditional. The Communists couldn't root out the Russian Orthodox Church, nor Islam in the non-Russian minorities.
Where Stalin failed LRH won't succeed. Not in a billion years.

But then again; Stalin never tried to convert the brown bears of Kamchatka. So who knows...

Sekh

Who knows? Russians are used to brainwashing and totalitarian regimes, so Co$ might actually succeed. I guess they'll be going after Borat and Yurkov Shmirnov next.

The eastern bloc is not short of its fair share of scamming cults, including scientology.

I can't remember where I heard it but someone claimed that there were actually more Freezone scientolgists in Russia and surrounding countries than official "church" scientologists. No idea if that's true but there is more of a cohesive independent network than in the USA. I don't know what that means, other than they are happy to believe in the bullshit but not prepared to pay the price or be abused. Terril Park, a "Freezoner", who mostly posts on ESMB will probably be able to tell you more.

Here's an interesting article from the main xenu.net archives....

SCIENTOLOGY IN RUSSIA
by Prof. Alexander Dvorkin, Director of the Dialog Center, Moscow
http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/russia/sir.html

When they get the wares without paying the ridiculous prices they are smarter than many Western Co$ members.
I don't have an opinion over the value of their believe system, but am glad they dont let themselves get scammed by some slick American missionaries.

Good for you, Russia!

My guess is that 12 missions is bs. It could be one guy with a Dianetics book in his office, and no one could argue that it's not a mission, because who is going to check?

@glib; 12 is just Kazachstan. 73 in Russia. Bizarre BS.

Speaking of bizarre:Try reading this one, strictly spoken it is not about Russia, but it all goes on in the former Soviet Union.
http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=33884


Sekh.

Right, they don't like the cult in those countries, or in Russia.

About a year ago there was a protest by a bunch of students in Russia against Scientology. There was a great video. It was sort of like the Anonymous protests. I'll see if I can find the video.

^here it is.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNVVk_o3Be4

also...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86acwaPtSLE

I think the citizens of Clearwater Fla. wouldn't be charmed by their style, but the message is loud and clear.

Bravo, Russia!!

Exactly. What think is even more doubtful are the Dianetics centers in Muslim countries. A Dianetics center in Saudi Arabia??? Puh-leeze.

One thing you need to realize, Sekh, is that the cult is very PR-minded when it mentions "missions" in the U.S. & abroad. There are many public Scientologists who have declared their home to be a "mission," solely for the tax benefits it provides. For example, if I travel out of state to visit friends or vacation, I can declared the travel as a tax exemption if I claim I was involved in mission-related activities. I knew of one public that took his kids to Disneyworld & other out-of-state places for vacations every year. He made a point of visiting the Orlando org or similar Dianetics center, taking photos of his visit with center personnel & grabbing a business card if one was available. He wrote the entire vacation off as a "business trip" related to his religious activities.

Scientologists are not the only ones that do this, however. I have read many articles of people in the corporate world doing the same thing, and the IRS is keenly aware of the practice but the onus is on them to prove fraud occurred.

Most of the "missions" in Russia are the homes of 1 or members of the same family in a house.

The tax thing is interesting. Hadn't thought of that one yet. Maybe because our tax laws don't allow you to use private religious activity as tax exempted business trips.

I'm thinking what Smurf is thinking. The more orgs you have, the more popular you seem. The more countries you can boast of where you have expanded, the broader the appeal of your message (supposedly). And finally, the more languages in which Dianetics is translated, the more there appears to be a demand for it (who cares of anyone reads it)!

And if the natives don't like it... well, they're just religiously intolerant.

And "mission" sounds good, of course."Org" sounds a bit culty, creepy. "Organization" sounds business-like. But "mission" is directly associated with religion, and with helping people in difficult circumstances. Specially to Christians, or ex-Christian Scientologists, the word subconsciously means selfless action to bring the faith to remote places and make life better for the people there. Who would not want to give a donation for that noble cause? And what evil government would go after missionaries?

Should have guessed it. Co$. All about the money.

The mission holder can lose his house, so any religious tax exemptions are a risky bet:

Wieber post Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:36 pm on the thread Missions at viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29509