Where the church stands in Russia
Russia's Orthodox identity is enormous and ancient, and after seventy years of Soviet atheism its survival is itself remarkable. But active faith is far rarer than the identity suggests, and the evangelical community is around one percent.
Russia is also home to more than a hundred unreached peoples — Tatars, Chechens, Bashkirs, and the Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus and Siberia — many with no Scripture in their own language. Restrictions since the 2016 'Yarovaya' laws have made evangelism outside church buildings legally hazardous.
Signs of hope
Bible translation progressing among Russia's minority peoples, and evangelical churches that survived the Soviet era intact.
The honest difficulty
Laws restricting evangelism, pressure on non-Orthodox churches, and over a hundred unreached peoples with little witness.
What "Less-reached" means
There is a church, but it is small relative to the population, or the Christian identity is far more widespread than active faith. Much of the nation can still live a whole life without meeting a follower of Jesus.
In Russia the majority religious context is Christianity, largely Orthodox (~71%); Islam (~10%). The largest population still considered without meaningful Gospel access is the Tatar, Chechen and other Muslim peoples of the Caucasus and Volga.
How to pray for Russia
Prayer is not a substitute for going; it is how going begins. Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.
- Pray for spiritual awakening beyond cultural Christianity.
- Ask God to sustain believers ministering in restrictive conditions.
- Pray for the Tatar, Chechen and Caucasus peoples — unreached inside a 'Christian' nation.
- Pray for Bible translation into Russia's minority languages.
Questions people ask about Russia
Is Russia an unreached nation?
Russia is classified as less-reached. There is a church, but it is small relative to the population, or the Christian identity is far more widespread than active faith. Much of the nation can still live a whole life without meeting a follower of Jesus. Roughly 71% of the population identifies as Christian and about 1% as evangelical, with an estimated 110 of its 230 people groups still considered unreached. Figures are rounded estimates and vary by source and year.
How many Christians are there in Russia?
About 71% of Russia's roughly 144 million people identify as Christian — approximately 102 million people. Around 1% are evangelical. The largest group still without meaningful Gospel access is the Tatar, Chechen and other Muslim peoples of the Caucasus and Volga.
How can I pray for Russia?
Pray for spiritual awakening beyond cultural Christianity. Ask God to sustain believers ministering in restrictive conditions. Pick one of these, pray it for two minutes a day for a week, and ask one other person to pray it with you.