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A Personal Memoir

By S. L. Robertson

I met Aida in August 1961 and again between September 1963 and June 1964. All I write here is at her behest. Aida's prime concern was that Christians in the West should be made aware of the true position of Soviet believers.

   "Still waters run deep," goes the English proverb; the Russian one says, "Still waters undermine the river banks." This is the kind of phrase used by Soviet literature and atheist propaganda when referring to believers of the reformed faith. Official policy toward religion has oscillated between persecution and a minimum tolerance of its existence. "Peaceful coexistence" applied to Soviet foreign policy has no place at home, especially concerning belief in God. It is important to remember this at a time when many are tempted to go along with Communist ideology as "fellow-travelers" attracted by the social and economic goals of the USSR, which have much that springs from humanitarian concern.

   In the Soviet Union today (where, since 1968 a civil rights movement has grown up) many are demanding recognition of individuals rights. It is against the background of this movement that we must see the demand by believers for religious freedom. When believers ask that

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they be allowed to meet for prayer and fellowship in private homes, the Soviet authorities claim that anti-Soviet activities are being fomented at these meetings, and insist that believers meet only in the registered churches or "prayer houses" provided by the State.

   The spiritual element in human life, which ought to be central, has been redefined in social and political terms: "Man is the measure of all things" sums up well what the Soviet State expects of its citizens, whether believers or not. The goal of (material) progress leaves no room for those seeking the inner life. Religion is condemned as promoting passivity and subservience. The Kazan Cathedral in Leningrad, now a museum, has its walls amply decorated with texts from the Bible, designed to show how Christians are encouraged to abdicate their responsibilities in the physical realm. You read quotations like: "Slaves, submit to your masters," or see illustrations equating toil with God's curse on mankind.

   In August 1961 I visited, on three occasions, the Baptist church in Leningrad. Once, after the service, a girl approached me. She seemed anxious to learn and was seeking an explanation to the doubts within her. I told her to speak to the pastor, who would surely be able to help her through regular contact.

   The girl, Aida Skripnikova, said that the pastor had no time for such a thing. This struck me then as a little odd. After the service we walked back to town and I tried to explain to her what was meant by being a Christian. I gave her two or three gospels which I had brought with me. Limited as the ministry was that I could offer, she hung on to every word. I felt as though I were someone trying to light a match in the middle of a dark forest.

   Main towns in the USSR generally have just one legal meeting place, but even here the believers are sometimes subject to harassment. The Leningrad church, which is situated at the edge of the city in an old Orthodox church —

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used later as a workshop — has, on a Sunday morning, the constant accompaniment of motorcycles revving around and around the building. It was here that I came in September 1963, after a lengthy tram ride across town. Having stood in the tramcar for an hour I might have relished the thought of a seat — but there are no seats in a Russian church!

   After the service, which lasted over two hours, Aida came rushing up to me and told me that she was now a Christian. Her brother was a believer (he had since died), and she was tremendously impressed with his life and at last came to the point of faith. Also since we had last met, she had been hauled up before a Comrades' Court¹ and questioned on her contact with a certain foreigner after church on Sundays. She was warned that if she went on in her Christian ways, she would be brought to trial and sentence. For this, Aida said, she was fully prepared, but witness she must.

   I truly enjoyed worshiping with Russian Christians: the Spirit of Christ was present. The Word was preached, albeit always in the same basic terms. It was a real change from daily Soviet life, where to name the name of Christ brought at least mirth, if not total unbelief. Nevertheless, there were many among Soviet youth who asked more searching questions and came secretly to church — secretly, that is, from their friends and fellow students.

   It became apparent that all was not as it seemed superficially: Aida went around with lists of names of imprisoned Christians. She spoke of "trusting the pastor more than the elders" — talk which I found strange. The pastor in his prayers thanked God for a congress held to cleanse the church at which important resolutions were passed. Aida seemed so much more involved in all this than other

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1. An informal — though legal — way of administering justice for lesser offenses, where a person is tried by workers of his own area.

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Christians. Above all, she was fearless in approaching others, particularly foreigners, and asking for their help. Her constant theme was that of appealing to Western Christians for help. It may be that, with the knowledge we have of the situation, we shall have much to answer for before the Throne of Grace for lack of prayer on behalf of our brethren.

   Aida was secretary of a group known as the Organizing Committee² or Orgkomitet. The aim of this committee was to prepare for a congress of the church to cleanse it of impulse elements and make it concentrate entirely on its spiritual functions.

   Local Christians in Leningrad used to urge Aida to go on with her studies, as indeed did we foreigners, but her sight was set on higher things and she wanted only to further the cause of Christ and His people in the USSR. She regarded Leningrad believers as too timorous and left her job to go to the Ukraine to gather material "for external use." She came back in the spring of 1964, saying how bold were the believers in the south.

   She stayed with her sister while away from Leningrad and learned that the police were trying to catch her as she left the Ukraine for Leningrad. She saw them stationed at the bus and rail terminals, so she took a country bus in the opposite direction and reached Leningrad by a devious route. Having given up her job there earlier, she automatically lost her right to have a residence permit for Leningrad and had to be sheltered outside the city. Wisely or unwisely she sometimes came to the students' hostel where I was living, and this fact was duly noted. I think it must be said that what she did, she did because she could do no other.

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2. This committee was at first (1961) called the Action Group. (Initsiativnaya gruppa, shortened to Initsiativniki, the name by which these reformers are most commonly known. "Reform Baptists" is the best English equivalent).

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   One problem she encountered was the language barrier. She frequently approached foreigners, as already mentioned, to request them to take out material. Naturally this was hard for a visitor to the church to understand, and many of them spoke no Russian. Aida tells how much greater was their astonishment when the elders tried to restrain her physically from approaching the foreigners. They tried to take the papers in her handbag which contained, for example, a list of imprisoned believers.

   How could the official organs deal with this kind of situation? The main way was to invite visitors before and after the service to the vestry, where questions could be put to the pastor, who assured them that anything he said could be recorded. I myself had wondered at this excessive politeness in insisting that I come and sit with the elders, when the only other seats were a few benches occupied by those who reached church very early. Naturally I did not always avail myself of the invitation.

   I myself was upset at this conduct of the pastors, and so came to understand why Aida behaved as she did. Later I came to see that our only weapons are prayer and fasting, and that His love alone can conquer in such a situation. This must have been how Aida felt, though to a greater extent, about the Church and country she loved.

   She and some others are struggling against pitiful odds, having so little, but having Him. We in the West must be involved at depth with the Church Universal. When was the eye ever able to say to the ear, "I have no need of you"?

   "Scientific atheism" is the name given to antireligious propaganda. It claims that science and religion are opposed, that the latter foments backward and depraved attitudes. Believers may or may not hold an evolutionary (in the Darwinian sense) view of man, but they believe in man as created by and for God. It is natural then that Russian Christians are as law-abiding and hard working

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as other citizens, regardless of the theological definition of the word "toil."

   Not infrequently the Christian in a work team turns out the best product or overfulfills his norm to a greater extent than others. How is he to be treated, when it comes to prizes and bonuses? One Christian was in this position. An argument such as the following arose:

   — He is a believer; we can't give him the prize!

   — He's done the best work, hasn't he?

In the end he received the award.

   In the above there is room for agreement or disagreement as the case may be. There is no quarter, however, for underground pastors or full-time Christian workers like Aida who give up secular employment. They are regarded as "parasites," after the proverb "He who does not work shall not eat." When Aida returned from the Ukraine and had to live outside Leningrad, the only work she could get was bottling milk twelve hours a day for about 30 roubles (approximately $33) a month — the very lowest of wages. This she accepted without grumbling.

   What strikes one above all else about Aida is her intense love and zeal for her Lord and country. It is the selfless outpouring of her being that is her strength; only such dedication can match the onslaught of people imbued with the ideals of Marxism-Leninism. There is one very good reason for this. If a social goal for Christianity is preached, then it has nothing to offer in the face of Communism. Even the pursuit of Christian ideals and ethics is insufficient; each and every Christian must be filled with the power of Jesus Christ and be directed by Him. It seems to me that Aida did not see this in many visitors from abroad.

   We used not, at first, to understand each other, I think for the above reasons. Aida could not comprehend how others were not caught up as she was. The restraining voice of other Christians was not for her. Seeing the fields

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"white unto harvest," she was unable to simply stand and watch.

   To a Westerner she might seem outspoken, challenging what one does or does not do. I think she found it difficult to accept that we, enjoying freedom to worship, did so little for those who depend so much on our prayers and help of other kinds. We did not fully understand the importance she attached to informing Western Christians about the situation of believers. She thought our newspapers would devote whole editions to publishing facts about the persecuted church. From her point of view, why should we not? If someone attacks us in the press, we can expect the right to reply. Aida, as a Soviet believer, does not have this possibility.

   Our Soviet brothers and sisters ask for our support in prayer and in giving, particularly Bibles; we need their support equally, and one way of letting them speak is to publish their message to us.

   The Soviet Union has a number of slogans relating to the building of Communism. One of these is familiar to Christian ears: "From each according to his capabilities — to each according to his need." This we see practiced by the early Christians. Christ said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word proceeding from God." His temptation was to lay aside the spiritual task for which He had come, and make "rice Christians." This same temptation, or weapon, is used to entice Christians in Russia away from their spiritual allegiance to Christ. There are those in extreme circumstances who deny their Lord — again a test we have not had to face. I think, too, that we also miss out on the joy written all over the faces of Aida and other believers: a spiritual joy granted by the Lord to those who have suffered for Him. Whatever else is added to them, they seek first His Kingdom.

   Aida did receive that prison sentence and, I am quite

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sure, was not silent even when thus physically restricted. Will we remember her, who has borne her share of Christ's sufferings and who shall yet share His glory?

York, March 1972

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