ABSTRACT
The alternative creeds came to Russia in the early 1960s, echoing the new youth culture and its emphasis on new values. The Russian parliament, the State Duma, responded to the danger of totalitarian sects by enacting a new law on the ‘freedom of consciousness’. The law stipulated that all new non-traditional religious communities must pass a test period proving their good intentions. The law will hardly stop the growth of alternative or even dangerous cults: the stressful situation in Russia will continue to push young people towards sects, often to the detriment of their mental health. The expression ‘family problems’ is used in the broad sense to refer not only to tension in relations among family members, but also to problems facing the family as a whole. Like family problems, a blind alley situation is often the result of worsening economic conditions crisis and less social mobility among the young.
