In its first annual report, the Commission on International Religious Freedom, set up in 1998 to monitor religious freedom around the world, said that Russia's 1997 Religion Law was a significant step backwards because it made it harder for new religious organisation to operate.
The report also accused Russia of using anti-Muslim propaganda in the war in Chechnya.
The members of the commission, which includes Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Bahai religious leaders, recommended a continued monitoring of the situation.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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