With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the new-found religious freedom, spiritual life has re-emerged in unprecedented diversity in all the regions of the atheist former Soviet Union. Previously banned faiths with historical roots in the region have emerged from their underground existence, while missionaries have flocked to the region in a bid to recruit new adherents. The diversity of minor religions, new and traditional alike, has presented the Orthodox Churches and political elites in the region with a major challenge. The legacy of the negotiations on religious freedom continues to imprint itself on inter-faith relations, as well as on interactions with a largely secular society.