Alexander Dvorkin

Alexander Leonidovich Dvorkin (Russian: Александр Леонидович Дворкин; born 20 August 1955, Moscow) is a Russian anti-cult activist, former clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church,[1] president of the Saint Ireneus of Lyons Informational Consultative Center,[2] an anti-cult organisation affiliated to the Russian Orthodox Church[3] and since 2009 Vice-President of European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism (FECRIS), umbrella organization for anti-cult groups in Europe.[1] Dvorkin graduated Doctor of Philosophy in 1983 at the Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. He has appeared on Russian television.[4]

In 1993 with blessing of Patriarch Alexy II he established Russian anti-cult organization currently called Association of Centres for the Study of Religions and Sects (RATsIRS). From that time on he is extremely active in opposing non-Orthodox religions and movements through his publications.[1]

Dvorkin is a critic of Scientology, which he regards as a dangerous cult. Church of Scientology-affiliated organizations describe him as an "anti-religious extremist," and compile negative information about him on their websites. In 1997, Scientology and several other new religious movements sued Dvorkin and the Russian Orthodox Church for defamation, but their case was dismissed.[5]

Dvorkin claimed that the followers of Nikolai Rerikh and the religious communities of Yakov Krotov and Grigori Kochetkov are “totalitarian sects”.[6] "When a psychiatrist-academician (Dmitrieva, Sidorov) or an expert-psychologist of the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences rely on the works by Dvorkin and Hassan, which do not belong to science, it is a symptom of degradation," said Yuri Savenko, the President of the Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia.[7]

Alexander Leonidovich Dvorkin initiated the Bhagavad Gita trial in Russia, seeking to ban ISKCON's edition of the Bhagavad Gita. On March 21, 2012, the Russian appeals court rejected Dvorkin's petition and also upheld the decision of the lower court,.[8][9]

In May 2014 documents of Dvorkin from psychiatric clinic leaked to internet and this became subject of big amount of media publications.[10] The documents evidenced that Alexander Dvorkin was under psychiatric care for four years (from 1973 to 1977) in the Moscow Psycho-Neurological Clinic Nr. 3 with a series of mental illnesses and he spent one month in Moscow Psychiatric Hospital Nr. 14.[11] Dvorkin confirmed in an interview with the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta the fact of him being taken in at the psychiatric hospital (an audio recording of the interview has been published by the newspaper).[12] The Serbsky State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry in Moscow conducted an expertise in March 2014 on the medical psychiatric documents of Alexander Dvorkin and concluded that “The patient needs constant, continuous monitoring by a psychiatrist (visit a psycho-neurological clinic at least 1 time every 2 months, if necessary, hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital) and constant reception of psychotropic drugs”. Experts also concluded that the patient can't do scientific work and has a tendency to dream up things.[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Regis Dericquebourg, A Case Study: FECRIS, Journal for the Study of Beliefs and Worldviews, 2012/2, p.188–189, ISBN 978-3-643-99894-1
  2. ↑ Steinberg, Mark D.; Catherine Wanner (2008). Religion, morality, and community in post-Soviet societies. Indiana University Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-253-22038-7.
  3. ↑ Lucas, Phillip Charles; Thomas Robbins (2004). New religious movements in the twenty-first century: legal, political, and social challenges in global perspective. Routledge. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-415-96577-4.
  4. ↑ For example his appearance in TV-program "National Interest"
  5. ↑ Côté, Pauline (2001). Chercheurs de dieux dans l'espace public. University of Ottawa Press. pp. 157–158. ISBN 978-2-7603-0535-9.
  6. ↑ Савенко, Юрий (2009). Открытое письмо Президенту Российской Федерации Д.А. Медведеву. Nezavisimiy Psikhiatricheskiy Zhurnal (in Russian) (№ 2): 5–6. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Савенко, Юрий (2004). Отчетный доклад о деятельности НПА России за 2000-2003 гг.. Nezavisimiy Psikhiatricheskiy Zhurnal (in Russian) (№ 2). ISSN 1028-8554. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Russian court dismisses plea seeking ban on Gita". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Prosecutors won't contest court refusal to declare 'Bhagavad Gita As It Is' extremist". Russian Legal Information Agency. RIA Novosti. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "Минздрав поставил диагноз главному сектоведу". Trud. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Web-site with the original documents
  12. ↑ "ru:Особенности российского сектоведения: от дурдома до Минюста". Nezavisimaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 26 Feb 2015.
  13. ↑ "ru:Минздрав поставил диагноз главному сектоведу". Trud (in Russian). Retrieved 26 Feb 2015.
  14. ↑ "ru:Почему деятельность сектоведа Дворкина не пользовалась поддержкой?". Regioni Rossii (in Russian). 11 Aug 2014. Retrieved 26 Feb 2015.

External links

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