On May 27, 2015, the Russian Federation Ministry of Justice registered the Local Religious Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow. The registration came nearly five years after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that a Moscow court decision to liquidate the Witnesses’ legal entity was illegal.

After years of legal proceedings, the Golovinskiy District Court of Moscow ruled to liquidate the Witnesses’ legal entity in 2004. In 2010, the ECHR ordered Russia to remedy the violation by restoring the community’s registration and paying moral damages. The Russian government paid the fine but only now registered the religious community.