Comment: At the end of this article it's reported, that L. Ron Hubbard had come first in a poll as the ``Personality of the Century.''
NOTE: $cientology is famous for manipulation of polls. Or did you ever heard the name L.Ron Hubbard in one sentence with Mother Theresa or Gandhi?

Reuters, Oct. 7, 1999

Russia Scientologists face Moscow teaching ban

By Michael Steen

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Russian branch of the U.S.-based Church of Scientology is threatened with closure after a court found it guilty of teaching without a licence, a judge said on Thursday.

The Hubbard Humanitarian Association branch of the international group -- founded on the teachings of science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard -- fell foul of complex laws requiring all organisations conducting teaching courses to obtain a permit.

``The court has declared the registration illegal and ordered the founders to liquidate their organisation,'' Judge Oleg Denisevich of Ostankinsky District Court told Reuters.

Alexei Danchenkov at the Hubbard Humanitarian Centre admitted the group had made some minor errors when applying for a permit in 1993, but said these had been corrected in 1997.

``The case is not closed, we are going to appeal. The judge was not objective,'' he said.

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH WELCOMES RULING

Russia's mainstream Orthodox Church, long outspoken in its condemnation of attempts by alternative religions to win over parishioners, welcomed the ruling.

``Our church is strongly critical of them (the Church of Scientology),'' said spokeswoman Yelena Spiranskaya. ``We define them as a totalitarian sect.''

Scientology branches have been investigated by police in countries across Europe, particularly Germany, where supporters likened themselves to Jews being persecuted during the Nazi era.

German officials say the group is no more than an economic organisation exploiting its members for profit.

Members of Scientology take personality tests and are then invited to pay for courses and literature which the group says helps them realise their full potential.

The doors to Moscow's Hubbard Humanitarian Association do not risk being shut until after the group has had a chance to appeal to a higher court in the next few weeks.

The Church of Scientology's Moscow offices were raided by police armed with automatic weapons and bulletproof vests in February, but there was no official word on whether this was linked to the court case.

It has not all been bad news for the group, which counts film stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its members.

Moscow's popular radio station Ekho Moskvy announced on Wednesday that L.Ron Hubbard had come first in a poll of listeners to find the ``Personality of the Century.''

He beat Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa of Calcutta to the number one spot.

Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.