Browsing: ROC

Source: The Christian Science Monitor Russia may lack much of a political opposition. But our reporter found evidence of community-level democracy, as citizens push back against land grabs by the Russian Orthodox Church. By Fred Weir Correspondent [MOSCOW] On a recent Sunday in Torfyanka Park, in a densely populated suburb near the northern edge of Moscow, a familiar ritual of confrontation is taking place. The sun shines in this small patch of greenery with a circular pond at its heart. Dozens of people have gathered at a fenced compound that houses a 24-hour guard station and a large wooden cross,…