Journal “Obshchina”, Winter 1979 (55.2-3)

<<No 55: 31 December 1979>>

ARRESTS, SEARCHES, and INTERROGATIONS

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On 20 November 1979, Alexander Ogorodnikov should have been released after serving his sentence for ‘parasitism’ (CCE 51.15, CCE 52.4). He is still being held in custody in Leningrad, however, where he was brought from the camps. He now faces a new charge.

Alexander Ogorodikov, b. 1950

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On 22 November, Ogorodnikov’s mother was interrogated. Investigator Cherkesov told her that on 15 September 1979 a criminal case had been instituted against her son under Article 70 (RSFSR Criminal Code). She refused to sign the interrogation record.

His father was also interrogated. They asked him where Ogorodnikov had found the money to buy the house in Redkino where he had been living before his arrest.

On 14 November 1979, Tatyana Goricheva [1] was summoned to an interrogation in Leningrad. She refused to give evidence.

On 28 November, the Moscow homes of Vladimir Burtsev and V. Kovalenko were searched. The searches were conducted by two investigators from Leningrad, Lepetunov and Cherkesov. Burtsev was taken away for interrogation after the search. The next day his wife Ludmila was interrogated, and was told that Poresh had been charged under Article 190-1 (RSFSR Criminal Code). She refused to give evidence. Kovalenko was also interrogated.

By 7 December 1979, Lev Regelson, Victor Kapitanchuk, Yevgeny Barabanov, Father Dmitry (Dudko) and member of the Christian Seminar Victor Popkov had all been summoned for interrogation. Regelson and Kapitanchuk did not go. Barabanov said that he knew neither Poresh nor Ogorodnikov.

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Victor Popkov, who lives in Smolensk, was in Moscow for several days.

On 4 or 5 December 1979, Popkov was grabbed on the street and taken to a police station; there he was threatened with a criminal charge for violating residence regulations and for leading a parasitic way of life. He was ordered to leave Moscow within 72 hours.

From the police station he was taken to Lefortovo Prison for interrogation. The investigator told him that he would be interrogated in connection with the case of Poresh, Ogorodnikov and Yakunin. Popkov objected that these were three different cases. The investigator did not argue. The interrogation lasted about seven hours. When he left Lefortovo, Popkov noticed that he was being followed. He was followed for two days, until he left to return to Smolensk.

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On 6 December 1979, Father Dmitry Dudko was interrogated at Lefortovo (CCE 56.9).

In reply to questions put by Investigator Cherkesov, Dudko said that Ogorodnikov was his spiritual son, that he did not remember Poresh and that he knew nothing about the journal Obshchina. He remarked that the authorities had lost contact with young people and stated that the KGB aggravated conflicts between believers. Cherkesov told Dudko that Poresh was being allowed to have spiritual literature in his cell.

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On 12 December 1979, the Moscow Helsinki Group issued a protest against the persecution of participants in the Christian Seminar and publishers of Obshchina [2]: see MHG Document 115, CCE 55.10-2.

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NOTES

In September 1980, Alexander Ogorodnikov was sentenced to six years in strict-regime camps, plus five years exile (CCE 58.6). See also KGB’s misleading remarks about him in their 1987 memorandum (4 February 1987*, 206-B) to the Politburo concerning the death of Anatoly Marchenko.

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  1. Tatyana Goricheva, wife of poet Victor Krivulin. Detained (CCE 38.19 [31], Dec 1975; CCE 43.15 [9], Dec 1976) for taking part in ‘Decembrist’ gatherings.

    Issue 10 of the “37” periodical contains theological work by Goricheva (CCE 48.24). As an editor of “37” Goricheva spoke about “Christian Responsibility” (CCE 49.16 “Alternative Culture”).
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  2. For the trials of Vladimir Burtsev and Victor Popkov, see CCE 56.11; for that of Vladimir Poresh, CCE 57.1.
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