- 19-1. Catholics in Lithuania.
- 19-2. Baptists and Pentecostalists.
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2. BAPTISTS.
2.1: The Trial of Valentin Naprienko (Donetsk, east Ukraine).
On 6 September 1979, the UkSSR Supreme Court quashed the verdict in the case of Valentin NAPRIENKO, who had been sentenced in Donetsk on 27 June to three years’ imprisonment (CCE 53.24).
A new trial took place in the Donetsk Regional Court building on 25-29 October 1979. Only Naprienko’s family were allowed into the courtroom. At the request of the accused, G.F. Dzhurik, Naprienko’s co-defendant (he was sentenced to two years of ‘chemistry’; CCE 53.24) was summoned as a witness. However, on the third day of the trial the Chairman of the Court read out a telegram: Dzhurik was ill and could not attend the trial. Dzhurik’s worried wife immediately went to the place where her husband was serving his sentence and learned that he was quite well and had been working on a building site on the day the telegram was sent.
The trial was conducted on the basis of practically the same evidence as the previous one. The prosecution again demanded conviction, and Naprienko was again sentenced to three years. On appeal, Naprienko’s sentence was reduced to one year.
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2.2: The Trial of Runov (Balakhna, Gorky Region).
On 5 December 1979, the trial of A.F. RUNOV (CCE 53.24) took place in the town of Balakhna, Gorky Region (Volga District). The Court Chairman was Blinov.
The text of the leaflets which Runov had distributed was read out in court:
“Against the evil in which the whole world lies stands the Word of God, broadcast by radio on 31 or 25 metres, short wave, every morning from 5.30 and in the evenings at 18.20, 20.30 and 21.30. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not die but have everlasting life’ (from the Gospels [John 3:16])”.
The court accepted the recommendation of a psychiatric commission, pronounced Runov not responsible and sent him for treatment in a Special Psychiatric Hospital (SPH).
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Friends of Runov, who had come from Gorky for the trial, were taken from the courtroom during the recess and searched. A cassette tape was confiscated from them and then they were released.
After the trial Runov was detained in Gorky Prison. His wife was not permitted to visit him and prison officials refused to hand her the court’s decision. On 27 March 1980, Runov was dispatched under guard to the Leningrad SPH.
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2.3: The Trial of Nikolai Kinash (Gorlovka, east Ukraine).
On 3 January 1980, in the town of Gorlovka (Donetsk Region), Nikolai KINASH, arrested on 13 November 1979 (CCE 55.7) was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for ‘parasitism’.
Until his trial he was held in a prison in Artemovsk, where he was beaten up by internal affairs officials. The following was noted in his medical file: “Injury in the region of the left ear…”
In his final speech at the trial, Kinash said that on four occasions during his imprisonment he had declared a hunger-strike in protest against inhuman treatment of him.
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ARRESTS.
2.4: Arrests in Elektrostal (Moscow Region).
On 7 October 1979 a religious service was broken up in Elektrostal, Moscow Region; P. Sautov, A. Pozdnyakov and N. Afonina were arrested.
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2.5: Arrests in Krasnodar (south Russia).
On 21 October 1979, a prayer-meeting of believers from the Pashkov church in Krasnodar was broken up. A number of searches were carried out at the same time and Presbyter V.P. Tsarenko, M.E. Yurasov, N.Ya. Kalinovsky and L.A. Kalinovsky were arrested.
The previous evening there had been a ‘public’ meeting, at which the Baptists were ‘discussed’. Believers were taken to this meeting by force, with the aid of police cars.
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2.6: Arrests in Chernovtsy Region (west Ukraine).
On 5 January 1980, six searches were carried out in Chernovtsy.
On the same day Mikhail KUSHNIR (b. 1938, father of seven) and the brothers Vladimir (b. 1929) and Victor (b. 1935) KOSTENYUK were arrested. All Victor Kostenyuk’s (CCE 54.19) money was confiscated during the search. On 24 January Investigator Rud made a list of the contents of his flat.
On 8 January another seven searches took place in Chernovtsy, several of them at the homes of relatives of those who had been arrested (see Miscellaneous below).
On 7 January 1980, a Christmas service was dispersed in the settlement of Veliky Kucherov; Victor Burdeiny was arrested and taken to KGB headquarters.
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2.7: Printers of the Christian Publishing-house arrested.
(Dnepropetrovsk Region, Ukraine)
On 13 January 1980, the printers of the underground Christian publishing-house were arrested in the village of Starye Kodaki (Dnepropetrovsk Region): G.I. Yudintseva (b. 1938) from Gorky; T.V. Bystrova (b. 1949) from Narva in Estonia; L.M. Kosachevich (b. 1952) from Ivangorod (Leningrad Region); and S.I. Bublik (b. 1957), from Rostov-on-Don.
A printing-press, an unfinished edition of the Herald of Truth (Vestnik Istiny) and about a ton of paper were seized. The printing shop was at the home of A.L. Zaplava; a search of her house was carried out without a warrant from the Procurator. On the same day searches were carried out in the village at the homes of Ya.A. Zaplava (A.L. Zaplava’s son) and P.G. Belokon.
“The Herald of Truth”, 1976
Religious literature, photographs, photographic paper, a paper-trimming knife, glycerine and prepared photographic plates were confiscated from Belokon; religious literature and printer’s ink were confiscated from Ya. Zaplava. Criminal charges were brought against Belokon and Ya. Zaplava.
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2.8: The Arrest of Khorev (Leningrad).
On 28 January 1980, Mikhail Ivanovich KHOREV, a member of the Baptist Council of Churches (CCECB) who lives in Kishinyov (Moldavian SSR), was arrested in Leningrad. Khorev has been sentenced on two previous occasions for his religious activities and has served a total of six years’ imprisonment.
At present Khorev is in custody in Kishinyov. Investigator Tsurkan carried out a search of Khorev’s flat on the day of his arrest. Only three of Khorev’s children, all of school age, were at home during the search. Religious literature, a tape-recorder, records and Khorev’s work-book (he is officially disabled and receives a pension) were confiscated; 355 roubles, all the money in the house, were also taken, as well as money found in one of the children’s pockets, which he had been given for his lunch at school.
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2.9: SEARCHES.
On 11 January 1980, searches were carried out in Novosibirsk at the flats of Ya.K. Kreker, K.K. Kreker, V.S. Kravets, N.G. Shkoldin, P.T. Khandeshin, V.A. Kotlyarov and V.E. Zherebnenko (CCE 48.16-2, CCE 49.14-2).
The searches were sanctioned by the Procurator of Moscow’s Volgograd district in connection with the detention of Yu.N. KHANDESHIN in Moscow (CCE 55.7). The object of the searches was the confiscation of religious literature. Vigilantes served as witnesses and took an active part in conducting the searches.
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On 19 January 1980, a search was carried out at I.Ya. Petrenko’s flat in Dnepropetrovsk. Religious literature, a film projector, a tape-recorder and records were confiscated.
Petrenko had several guests in his apartment: N.I. Kabysh, a pastor at the church in the city of Zheltye Vody (Dnepropetrovsk Region); K.Ya. Smirnsky, a pastor of the church in Dnepropetrovsk; P.I. Antonov from Kirovograd and K. Sysayev from Kremenchug (both Ukraine). All were detained by KGB officials and taken to the police station.
Sysayev and Antonov were released after a few days, but Pastors Kabysh and Smirnsky remained in detention.
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2.10: Miscellaneous.
On 10 December 1979, in accordance with a decision by Djambul’s central district court (Kazakhstan), the house of E.V. Dirks, in which Baptist religious services were held, was sequestrated.
On 13 January 1980, a judicial board of the Regional Court upheld the decision.
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On 6 January 1980, Pentelyuk, secretary of the Lenin district soviet executive committee in Chernovtsy (west Ukraine), led the break-up of a Sunday service.
On 8 January, Pentelyuk broke up another religious service at the home of I.M. Kostenyuk (see above, “Arrests”).
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On 6 January 1980, a search was carried out at the home of V.U. RYMAR (Khotin town, Chernovtsy Region); religious literature was confiscated. Rymar (b. 1936) is a Group II invalid.
On 15 January, police Captain Slugin drove Rymar to a health centre, where he was immediately forced to give samples for analysis. Then Slugin took him to the consulting rooms of several doctors. Slugin entered each consulting room alone and then brought Rymar in. Each doctor wrote that Rymar was ‘well’. His old out-patient’s medical card had mysteriously disappeared.
Rymar was deprived of his disabled status and told to find a job within a month. Rymar and his wife sent a statement to Brezhnev renouncing their Soviet citizenship.
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On 15 January 1980, Baptist M.S. Vladimirova was buried in Bryansk (west Russia).
When the coffin was carried out, police, vigilantes and KGB officials tried to seize the church ministers. P. Senyushchenko, who was photographing the procession, was taken away to the police station. The procession was escorted to the cemetery by several cars.
After the burial, I. Mitin, N. Golyan and A. Budayev were sentenced to 15 days jail each.
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L.G. Oleinik was expelled from her third year at the medical college in Shakhty (Rostov Region, South Russia) because she revealed her religious beliefs in an essay on atheism.
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A.N. Gordei, who was doing his military service in Gorodnitsky district (Volgograd Region) refused to take the oath of loyalty on account of his religious beliefs.
He is being threatened with a military tribunal. Gordei was beaten up by Ensign Sadykov and two soldiers.
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Anatoly Domnitsa from the Moldavian village of Volontirovka, who is doing his military service in Moscow, has, for his religious beliefs, been interned in the Yakovenko Psychiatric Hospital in the Moscow Region (Meshcherskoe Village).
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In a telegram addressed to Brezhnev and USSR Procurator-General Rudenko, the Council of ECB Prisoners’ Relatives demands an end to the interrogation of children who attended Baptist summer camps (CCE 54.19), which have been taking place in many cities.
Parents of the children are also interrogated. The Council also demands the release of those arrested in this connection: P.T. Rytikov, V.P. Rytikov and G.V. Vilchinskaya.
According to information from the Council of ECB Prisoners’ Relatives, 49 Baptists (see also CCE 54.19) were in prison, either convicted or under investigation, in January 1980.
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3. PENTECOSTALS.
3.1: Trials.
On 4 January 1980, in the town Taromskoe (Dnepropetrovsk Region), Vladimir Sliabura was sentenced to three years imprisonment for “refusing the regular call-up for military service”.
In 1977, Sliabura and his parents requested permission to emigrate; in August 1978 he renounced his Soviet citizenship.
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On 18 January 1980, the trial of Fyodor Sidenko (CCE 54.20-2), charged under Article 190-1 (RSFSR Criminal Code), took place in Novorossiisk, Krasnodar Region.
Sidenko was not in the courtroom: a psychiatric commission had diagnosed him as suffering from a “paranoid form of schizophrenia” and declared him not responsible. The court sent him for compulsory treatment to a psychiatric hospital of ordinary type.
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On 4 February 1980, the Temryuk people’s court sentenced Pavel Matyash from the Starotitarovskaya cantonment (Krasnodar Region) to two years ordinary-regime camps under Article 80 (RSFSR Criminal Code: “Refusing the Regular Call-Up …”).
He was arrested on 11 December 1979 (CCE 55.8).
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3.2: Breaking-up Prayer meetings
On 16 March 1980, a service attended by about 50 people at the home of V.A. Razumovsky in Yevseyevo village (Pavlo-Posad district, Moscow Region), was broken up. Razumovsky was fined 50 roubles.
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On 23 April 1980, a gathering of a Pentecostalist community under Presbyter Stepan Kostyuk was broken up in Moscow. About 50 believers were present.
A police-officer and three vigilantes tried to stop the service. When this did not work they summoned a car full of police. Ten of those taking part in the service, two of whom had exit visas for West Germany, were taken to Police Station 140, where they spent about 24 hours. They were questioned about registration of their community.
On 24 April 1980, a prayer-meeting at the unregistered community was broken up by police and vigilantes. About 200 people were present at the meeting. The women were released at once but about 30 men were detained.
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On 24 April, in the town of Maloyaroslavets (Kaluga Region), a prayer-meeting held by an unregistered community in the home of the Barkhatov family was broken up. About 60 people were present at the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting Zarapin, deputy chairman of the district soviet executive, two police lieutenants, some vigilantes and members of the public appeared in the doorway. Zarapin ordered the meeting to stop and everyone present to disperse immediately. Presbyter V.G. Murashkin called on everyone to pray. The faithful started praying. Zarapin ordered the police and vigilantes to approach the table and take away the leaders of the meeting. The believers joined hands, forming a chain and not allowing the attackers through. The latter began to seize the people at the edge and to drag them out of the room one by one.
In this way the majority of the believers were removed. However, 15 people managed to remain; they stood there, praying, for two hours, by which time the attackers had lifted their siege and driven away, taking three people to the police station. Those detained were released 20 minutes later.
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3.3: Miscellaneous
The leader of the Pentecostalist community in Maloyaroslavets, Bishop Ivan Petrovich FEDOTOV (CCE 34.12, CCE 36.8), has been summoned on several occasions by the local authorities regarding the registration of the community.
Fedotov refuses to register, pointing out the discrepancy between the USSR Constitution, which grants everyone the right to profess any faith, and the “Statutes on Religious Cults”, which enable these rights to be limited. On 21 March 1980, Znamya [Banner], the Kaluga regional newspaper, published an article about Fedotov titled “Under a Mask of Piety”.
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On 6 March 1980, several Pentecostalists were summoned to the soviet of the Starotitarovskaya cantonment (Krasnodar). Soviet officials Kirichenko, Kulish and Stepanov told them it was absolutely forbidden for believers to gather together for worship until they had registered their community. Otherwise, they would be fined.
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On 21 April 1980, an administrative commission from the Maloyaroslavets Town soviet executive committee fined U.T. Yevtyukhina 50 roubles. She was guilty of “gathering together a group of believers for prayers without having registered with the Soviet authorities”.
Yevtyukhina is a cleaner, with a monthly salary of 70 roubles.
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A Chronicle of Current Events 