According to an EJP report, Russia is preparing to recognize religious schools through a bill to be adopted in parliament soon. The legislation would help turn the page on decades of official atheism during Soviet communism and allow religious communities to run their schools with full government authorization.

The bill passed first reading last month and is expected to be approved by the newly-elected parliament in the coming weeks.

One of Russia’s Chief Rabbi’s Berl Lazar said the bill was a welcome sign that Russia was opening up to its religious minorities, and that “a new era for Russian Jews has begun.”